Samurai Out of Water
by Shimura Otani
Summary: An unforeseen event catapults the major players of the Sengoku era into the shinobi world. Spread out across an unfamiliar land, caught up in battles against enemies old and new alike, and forming bonds with new people, the course of history will be irrevocably altered!
1. A Crack In Fate

Matsunaga Hisahide was having a decidedly unpleasant day. It had started out fairly normally, sending Kotaro out on another retrieval mission (hunting for a Muramasa blade held by some no-name lord in Hokkaido), brewing a cup of his favorite tea (a finely aged kamairacha from the town of Ureshino), reading the latest text that had been sent from his trader contact (a play by some Englishman by the name of Shakespeare); all in all, it had been quite relaxing.

That all changed once Hisahide heard a loud ruckus coming from outside. Moving to a window overlooking the courtyard, he arrived just in time to see several of his men propelled through the gate guarding his inner courts. The gate slowly swung the rest of the way open after that, making way for an unfamiliar figure to stroll through the entrance way. He was a young man, no older than his early teens, and was clad in bits and pieces of old leather. Unruly brown hair pulled back into a rough ponytail, the boy was carrying a large wooden oar in one hand and a wooden sword in the other. Stopping a few feet into the courtyard, he loudly spat on the ground before yelling at the surrounding buildings. "Come oooon! Is that all you morons got?!"

Hisahide waited just long enough to see the Miyoshi trio surround the boy, emerging from the shadows behind him before turning around and starting down the stairs. Taking hold of his treasured Totsuka no Tsurugi as he passed by, he tied the sheath to his waist as he slowly walked down the stairs. Several minutes passed as he walked towards the courtyard, not bothering to hurry in any way. As such, he emerged into the open space just as the final Miyoshi brother was knocked backwards into a wall. Still, Hisahide calmly continued towards the intruder, stepping over the boy of the youngest Miyoshi- dead or not, he neither knew nor cared. "So, it seems that even the gods of death must pass away… At least they were not hypocritical in that way." Pointing his blade at the attacker, he continued. "But you, sir, what do you seek?" My goods? Or perhaps my life?"

In response, the boy just cocked his head to the side, digging his finger around in his ear as he talked. "Eh? … Man, you talk too much! I'm just here to beat you up and take your castle for the great Musashi Miyamoto! …That's me! Though, I'm sure that you already knew that."

"To have such a child come across this world's truth… It discredits me quite a bit. It is a shame, however, to send you along so soon after learning it." Hisahide chuckled, slowly lifting his free hand up. "But I suppose that this too, is the the world's truth."

With a snap of his fingers, the courtyard was engulfed in flames, explosives that had been planted underground detonating in sequence. Even as the yard was enveloped in crimson fire, Hisahide resumed his advance, moving through the flames unhindered as he followed after Musashi. Tracking a trail of rapidly evaporating blood and ash, Hisahide stepped over another of his men's corpses as it too was consumed by the fire. Frowning slightly as he saw where the trail lead, he followed it into one of his largest treasuries.

The inside of the room was lavishly decorated, hundreds of priceless artifacts lining the walls. Hisahide passed by glittering jewels and gold, legendary ceramics and weapons, and rack upon rack of ornately forged armor standing silently along the walls- still following the streaks of ash along the floor. As he went further in, the displays became like a maze, shelves and walls stretching up to almost touch the ceiling. The trail extended almost the entire length of the storehouse, finally terminating before one of his most treasured artifacts. Dominating the rear wall of the treasury, a massive mirror was set, hung in a golden frame.

Standing in front of the massive piece, Hisahide looked down at the trail, which seemed to double back in on itself before abruptly stopping. Sighing, he looked back up into the mirror, planning on admiring it briefly, before noticing something odd. Reflected in the mirror, up almost clinging to the ceiling was the huddled figure of Musashi. Before he even had time to turn around, the all too familiar voice shouted down from behind him. "Ha! Gotcha, idiooot!"

With that, the kid leapt down at Hisahide, both weapons drawn back to strike. He easily brought his sword up to block the hit, but could do nothing about the force behind it. With a shout, the pair of them toppled backwards- straight into the mirror. As they crashed into it, a single crack appeared, running from the bottom edge to the top. As they slid down the wall, the crack proliferated, becoming two cracks, then four, then eight. Within seconds, cracks spiderwebbed across the mirror. The pair stared at the damage for a single second, and then it seemed to explode into a shower of shards, a massive scream seeming to resonate through the room as it did so. As the mirror shattered, a bright white flash of light exploded out behind it, enveloping both of those in the room. As it faded, both were nowhere to be seen.

Unbeknownst to both Hisahide and Musashi, this was not the only flash of light that occurred at that moment. Across Japan, dozens of others were suddenly surrounded by the same flash, and when it faded, they too would find themselves in a completely unfamiliar land. New bonds would be formed, and new enemies made. This was the beginning of a new adventure, a new conflict- the likes of which that had never been seen before, in either universe.


	2. Spiraling Bonds

On the outskirts of a small village near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice, two weary travelers made their way out of the town. The path that they walked was calm and quiet, a light breeze rustling the thick forest lining the right of the road. The soft movements of life could be heard from behind the large hedge that provided a barrier between the untamed forest and the idyllic pastures of the area. On the left side, the foliage had been cut away to make room for one of the rice patties that were so prevalent in the area.

Covered in dust and grime, the younger of the two men sighed, his hand moving upwards to brush yet another cobweb out of his vibrant blond hair. "Hey, Ero-Sennin?" The other traveler straightened up slightly at the unexpected question, his long white hair scratching small patterns into the dust covering his back. "Yeah, brat?"

The young man frowned, reaching down to wipe a particularly large streak of dirt off of his leg. "Why is it that we always end up running for our lives whenever we have to leave a village?"

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad this time!" The older man shot back, a childish pout undermining the credibility of his words. "Besides, you can't blame it all on me! It's not my fault that most women don't appreciate my genius."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "I think that's cause you don't have any to appreciate."

"I'll have you know tha-" The man's reply caught in his throat as something made itself known in the forest to their left. He raised a hand, signaling his partner to stop. "Naruto, do you hear that?"

The Uzumaki stopped shortly behind him, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated on the sounds of the surrounding forest. A few seconds later, he heard what his teacher had pointed out to him. "You mean that rumbling noise? …Is it just me, or is it getting louder?"

"It seems like it… And whatever it is, it's coming right for us!" Jiraiya tensed, drawing a kunai as he faced the forest.

The sound, while it had been fairly muted at first, now filled the formerly calm air. What had started out sounding like distant thunder, it was now a loud roar, punctuated by the cries of startled wildlife and the snapping of branches. As the sound drew closer, Jiraiya's thoughts turned to its possible origins. " _Damn, is it the Akatsuki already? It's been three years, but I haven't heard anything about them moving in this area…"_

Ultimately, the Sannin only had a scant few seconds to pursue that line of though as the scene burst into motion. With the loud cracking of broken branches, and the caws of a flock of birds that had frightened into flight, a massive man covered thick armor burst through the hedge, holding with him a drill like spear that was longer than he was tall. Upon reaching the clear path, the man stopped, obviously surveying the area.

As he crossed the threshold of the road, the shinobi were already in motion. Naruto began to burn through well practiced hand-seals, and by the time the newcomer swept his eyes, one glowing an unearthly red, over the boy; he was already calling out the name of his favored technique. **"** **Taj** **ū** **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** This cry was soon amplified a thousand fold as hundreds of clones formed in the area surrounding the three men.

With a roar, all of them descended as one on their target, preparing to overwhelm him with their sheer numbers. The original smirked, a clone beginning to form a ball of rapidly rotating pure chakra over his outstretched hand. As the wave of orange and black was about to make contact with the intruder, however, they were reduced to whiffs of smoke as he brought his spear through them in a large sweeping arc. A wave of sand and debris exploded outwards following the blow, destroying a large number of the clones standing behind the initial impact. In addition to dispersing the remaining clones, the flying rocks also disrupted the original's concentration even as the clone shaping the chakra was blown away.

Looking to take advantage of this distraction, the iron giant braced his spear at waist height as it's head began to spin even more rapidly. Within seconds, he rocketed forwards towards Naruto. Fortunately, Jiraiya was quick to recover from the momentary blindness caused by the dust storm, calling out another technique even as his opponent pierced through the cloud. " **Doton: Yomi Numa**!"

Channeling his chakra into the earth around him as he called out the name of the technique, the ground directly in front of the giant was transformed into a sticky black mud stopping him dead in his tracks. The armored man looked down at the mire as he rapidly sank under his own weight with an indifferent expression. A metal box on his back opened, and with a loud burst of sound and light, began to emit a pair of bright blue flames downwards. The thrust generated by this device was more than enough to counter the pull of the chakra infused mud beneath him, and a few seconds later, he was hovering several feet off the ground.

" _Damn, what the hell is this guy? The armor that's he's wearing seems like what those guys in the Land of Snow had, but this is on an entirely new level!_ " Naruto rolled out of the way of a swooping dash, taking a chance to observe the massive tore into the road. Jiraiya then engaged the flying man once again, riding on top of a red toad with a forked club. Catching the armored man in the side, the toad managed to knock him to the ground and pin him.

This opening provided Naruto the time that he needed to form a Rasengan. " _Well, whatever he is, he's no match for us!"_ The jutsu formed quickly with his clones help, completing as the giant pushed Jiraiya's summon to the side, the device on his back flaring up. Naruto charged, prepared to push the whirling ball of energy into that same device. Jiraiya held their opponent's attention as Naruto ran towards his back, sphere held high, and was promptly knocked off of his feet when a yellow blur slammed into his side.

Through this, Jiraiya was confused, and if there was one thing that he hated, it was to be confused about something. " _How have I never heard of this guy before?"_ He wondered, dodging a powerful downwards swing from his opponent's spear.

" _The only person that I know of who can fly is the current Tsuchikage, and as far as I know, he doesn't have any disciples..._ **Katon: Endan** **!** _"_ He punctuated his thought by spitting out a massive burst of flame at the man hovering above him. This proved to be fruitless, as the man simply flew through the fire unhindered, as the air around the tip of his rapidly spinning spear formed a powerful vortex. Jiraiya vanished in a burst of smoke, replacing himself with a scarecrow from the rice paddy as the massive spear pierced the ground where he had been standing. His internal dialogue continued even as he drew in a deep breath, forming the next sequence of seals. " _There were rumors of the Gobi's jinchūriki wearing some very unique armor... And he lives in Iwa to boot. But he had a big falling out with_ _Ōnoki_ _a while back, so there's no way that he taught him that technique…"_

He was again broken from his train of thought again by his student calling his name. Jutsu fizzling in his chest, he turned quickly, panic in his eyes as he scanned the area for his student while still keeping on eye on his opponent. " _Is there a second opponent? Shit, I didn't keep a close enough watch!"_

His fear turned out to misplaced; as he looked over to see the blond standing a fair way down the road along with a young looking man, wearing a yellow outfit bright enough to rival Naruto's old jumpsuit. He also seemed to be yelling something, though his words were mostly drowned out by the assortment of noises that accompanied his opponent. Listening closer, he was able to make out the young man's shout. "Tadakatsu! Tadakatsu!"

Naruto's shouts quickly rose in volume, even as he began waving his arms to catch his mentor's attention. "Hey, Ero-sennin! This guy here says that this is all just a big misunderstanding! He promises that the flying guy will stop fighting if we do!"

This left Jiraiya in a conundrum. He had been trying to get Naruto to stop trusting everyone on sight to the extent that he did, but it still happened more often than not. But sometimes his student's optimism paid off. After all, if this new arrival was an enemy, there's no reason that he wouldn't have attacked them already, as he would have had the upper hand with his partner. The sannin Looking warily at the giant, who was still standing a short distance from him, though he had not yet pulled his spear from the ground. " _Clothed in a yellow that bright, it's not likely that he's a ninja…Though you can't always tell with things like that._ "

Moving slowly, Jiraiya walked towards the new arrival, still not taking his eyes off of the giant for more than a moment. He shortly reached the pair, positioning himself so that he was between the armored man and his student. "Alright… We'll hear you out, but you better have some good answers…"

The black haired boy in front of them gave a quick nod, his features steeled into an expression that showed both deep appreciation and resolve. Jiraiya was surprised for a moment by the expression on the boy's face.

" _Those eyes… they're_ _like Minato's were. So full of hope and joy, but there's pain as well..."_ Jiraiya shook his head slightly, stopping himself from getting caught up in his memories.

"I promise that we bear you no ill will, and that I will answer all of the questions that you have for me… But first, could you perhaps answer one of mine?" The young man spoke quickly, but with practiced care for his tone and pronunciation.

Still perplexed by the situation, and certainly suspicious, Jiraiya figured that answering one question couldn't hurt- well, depending on the question, at least. "Sure, I suppose I can do that. What do you want to know?"

The boy's eyes lit up for a moment, though they quickly died down to their original hardness as again visibly suppressed his expressions. "The question that I would like to ask you is… Where are we?"

* * *

Several minutes later, Jiraiya was attempting to wrap his head around what the man in front of him had just told him. "Alright, so what you're saying is that, not only do you not know how you got here, but you've never even heard of any of the Elemental Countries, or any of the smaller nations to begin with?"

The young man in front of him gave a single, firm nod of his head in confirmation, and Jiraiya began to rub his temples in frustration. "And you don't have any gaps in your memory?"

Another nod.

"Well then, let's just start over, as I still don't even know who you are." With that, the stranger recoiled slightly in surprise, a look of realization in his eyes.

"Ah, you're right! I can't believe that I've been so rude! I am Tokugawa Ieyasu, leader of the Eastern Army! My goal is to unite all of Japan with the power of bonds!" His last statement was punctuated as he held his fist up at eye level, where it seemed to shine with its own light for a brief moment.

Letting his hand fall back to his side, he gestured to the giant man standing behind him. "And this is my trusted companion, the great Tadakatsu Honda, the strongest warrior in the warring states!" The heavily armored man merely tilted his head forwards in greeting.

Bowing deeply, Ieyasu continued. "We are most grateful to meet you! Again, you have my deepest apologies for our actions."

Jiraiya was left even more confused by his introduction. " _If_ _I'm to_ _believe him, then he'_ _s in_ _command of his own army, apparently one strong enough to attempt unifying_ _his home, at that._ _But_ _my contacts should have let me know about any force of that size, in addition to their leaders._ _I've never seen any report on an_ _Eastern Army,_ _or this_ _"Japan."_

 _On the other hand, a lie of that magnitude would never pass with a ninja of any rank, much less with anyone that was decently informed of current events. So with that, what could there possibly be to_ _gain by lying about this…_ "

Working over the conundrum in his head, Jiraiya looked over the pair. Ieyasu was currently discussing something with Naruto, both of them sporting the same kind of cheesy grin. Jiraiya's eyes were drawn to the man's hands, both of which sported a golden gauntlet that swept back to cover his hand and wrist, while a band wrapped around the front of his fist. This, paired with the chain mail covering his right arm, pointed to the fact that he had been in conflicts before. This was further confirmed when Jiraiya noticed that what he had assumed to be a shirt was a gold tinted breastplate made of splint mail.

Of course, there was also his… partner? Bodyguard? Turning his attention to him, Jiraiya had to suppress a whistle as he was able to properly take in what he had been fighting a few minutes earlier. The armored man stood at what had to be well over eleven feet tall, and that spear of his was a good four feet taller. In addition to his sheer size, the man had some of the thickest armor that the Sannin had ever heard about, much less seen.

Finally, Jiraiya looked back at his student. Clapping his hands to grab the group's attention, he stepped forwards. "Alright, I, the great Jiraiya, have come to a decision!" At that, the pair cut their conversation short and turned to the older man, listening closely.

"To be frank, I've never heard of this army that you claim to lead, much less this 'Japan' but, I might know of someone that's heard something I haven't. If you want, I can escort the pair of you back to our village. You have a better chance of getting answers there than just wandering around out here." As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto's eyes lit up as he turned to Ieyasu, eyes gleaming.

"You should totally come with us! I'm sure that you'll love Konoha; it's the best! You can visit Ichiraku's and I'll even introduce you around town! So? What do ya say?" Ieyasu laughed brightly as he extended an open hand to the teen.

"With an introduction like that, how can I refuse? I would be honored to accompany you to this Konoha, if you would have me along!" Naruto smiled even wider this time, giving Ieyasu's extended hand a firm shake.

"Hell yeah! Let's get going!"

* * *

Technique Translations:

Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu- Multi Shadow Clone Technique

Doton: Yomi Numa- Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld

Katon: Endan- Fire Release: Flame Bullet


	3. Unexpected Intruders

Later that evening, something strange was taking place on top of Konoha's Hokage monument. A pair of shimmering orbs of what looked to be pure light was quickly growing kicking up a large cloud of dust and debris as they did so. The growth soon came to a stop however, revealing two man sized spheres of energy. One gently shone with a pale violet light while the other glowed fiercely, an ever changing pattern of scarlet and gold. As beautiful as the strange sight was, it was not to last.

The strange spheres disappeared as quickly as they had formed, leaving behind two figures, both of whom seemed to be somewhat caught off guard by the scene that they now found themselves in. As the dust settled, the taller of the two men turned to the other, overcoming his momentary disorientation. "Hanbei… I had not expected to see you here so soon."

The white haired man closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "Nor I you, Hideyoshi. Though, I didn't expect _here_ to be so idyllic, either."

The pair allowed silence to encircle them once more as they looked out over their new surroundings. Below them, the village was just beginning to shimmer in the twilight, and the travelers could hear snippets of noise from the still bustling city drifting upwards. After several minutes of quiet, Hideyoshi broke the calm contemplation. "Hanbei."

Looking up at his companion, Hanbei responded. "Yes?"

Hideyoshi stayed perfectly still, looking impassively over the cityscape. "Do you have any idea of where we might be right now?"

Hanbei gave a small shake of his head as he answered. "Other than Yomi, you mean? Not the faintest idea. I've been trying to reconcile the area with any landmarks and I haven't been able to come up with anything. My apologies."

Hideyoshi gave a short grunt of acknowledgment in reply, but before either of the pair could say or do anything more, they were interrupted by a sudden intrusion. Appearing with the blurs indicative of high-speed travel, a series of indistinct figures quickly encircled the pair.

The dust kicked up by the new arrivals quickly settled, leaving the pair staring at twelve masked figures, all of whom had drawn a tantō and were standing in a defensive posture. The apparent leader of the group- set apart by the fact that his mask was styled after a cricket's head, while the rest of his team just had simple white masks- began to speak, barking out his orders in a commanding voice that cut through the quiet of the night. "Trespassers! Both of you have illegally entered Konohagakure, and will now be taken into custody! Raise your arms slowly, and keep them in plain sight! Any hostile actions will be met with lethal force!"

At this proclamation, Hanbei leaned his head forwards and closed his eyes before letting out a soft chuckle. "My apologies, Hideyoshi. It seems that my carelessness has led to a truly unfortunate situation… Please, allow me to resolve it before it grows any more out of hand." Even as he was beginning to reach for the sword hanging at his waist, he was suddenly cut off as Hideyoshi put his arm in front of him.

"Wait. It would be pointless to antagonize these people without even knowing where we are. Co-operate with them." Both sides shifted at the declaration, as the unsaid "for now" attached to the end hung heavy in the air.

Hanbei recovered quickly, though, holding his hands up as he spoke. "Hm. Wise as ever, Hideyoshi. Very well then! Good soldiers of Konohagakure, we surrender ourselves to your custody!"

* * *

Morino Ibiki was not a happy man. Not only had he just received notification that two foreign shinobi had been apprehended in the middle of the village, but the guys in charge of watching the seals surrounding the walls were reporting that there had been no disturbances for the past three days- and the one that happened three days ago had been traced back to a particularly stupid genin, eliminating the possibility that that was when they got in.

" _Only two ways that they could get in without tripping the sensors… They either have a man on the inside, or some new instantaneous transmission technique. Damn… It's going to be a pain in the ass either way. Last thing we need right now is another witch hunt so close on the heels of that whole thing with Oto, and a new jutsu of that scale would open up a whole new can of worms… It's going to be a long night."_ Ibiki entered the holding area, stopping only briefly to pick up the updated case file from his assistant Anko. Turning to walk down another long white hallway, Ibiki flipped through the file.

" _Looks like Tiger got the inventory report in… Let's see what we have here. One double edged sword, heavy use, wear patterns look like it can extend with an unknown trigger; a pair of reinforced gauntlets along with several large pieces of armor; and a small silk pouch full of what seems to be dried sakura petals. And nothing that could indicate where the hell either of them are from. This just keeps getting better…"_ Arriving at the cell block where the two intruders were being kept, Ibiki grabbed a clipboard and spare sheet of paper off of the attendant's desk before making his way to the cell.

Carved into the solid rock under the village's foundation, the cell was moderately spacious, though the weak lighting made it seem half the size it was. Both suspects were being held within the same cell, apparently out of respect for their co-operation so far. Even still, both men's hands and feet were bound with shackles forged with chakra nullifying seals. Ibiki came to a stop in front of the cell, gave the prisoners a quick once over, and immediately launched into his speech.

"Alright, listen up! Normally, if someone had the guts to just show up on top of the Hokage monument and just wait for us to grab them, I'd be taking them on a private tour of hell within the first ten minutes of them arriving. But, since you're being smart and working with us, I'll give you all of three minutes to plead your case- starting with who you are and where you're from. We'll work around to how the hell you got in here after that." At that, the white haired man in the cell just smiled politely, while his large companion continued to look indifferent to the whole situation.

" _Smug bastard,"_ Ibiki bitterly thought to himself.

"That sounds entirely reasonable to me. The man next to me is the great Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and I am his strategist, Takanaka Hanbei. As for where we hail from, we were in Odawara, in the Kanagawa region, before we found ourselves here- though as for how that happened, I know as much as you. In fact, I'm still not sure exactly _**where**_ we are."

The head of the Torture and Interrogation Department leaned back, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose before replying. "Let me get this straight. You're telling me that you found yourself on top of the Hokage Monument, one of the most recognizable features on the continent, staring straight down at the Hokage's Tower, and you couldn't figure out that you were in the Konohagakure?! Am I to infer from this that you two are the most incompetent infiltrators in history, or are you just the stupidest?"

Chuckling, Hanbei shook his head as he replied. "I'm afraid that it's neither. In fact, I wouldn't consider ourselves "infiltrators" at all. Truthfully, I've never even heard of this Village, much less wanted to intrude upon it. If I may ask, though, are we near Aokigahara by any chance? It is rare that you see a forest of this thickness very often, aft-"

Ibiki cut in, bulldozing over Hanbei's attempts to explain. "Look, you keep listing these names like you expect me to recognize them! I need you to give me an actual place name, no more of these local nicknames, or codes, or whatever you're trying to pull.. If you can't manage that, I at least expect what country you're from- Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, Iron… Just give me something, or I promise that this is going to get very difficult for you."The interrogator punctuated his words with a pointed glare at Hanbei, who simply sat there and locked eyes with Ibiki.

Not breaking composure, the strategist deliberately paused before answering, contemplating the developing situation. " _Hm. From those options, I assume that we are outside of Japan entirely then…"_

When he did reply, it was with a small, sad, smile. "I'm sorry, I would love to help, but I've never heard a single one of those names before, at least not in reference to countries. I can tell you what province we were in, but outside of that, I'm not sure what more I can do. Perhaps if we could see a map; nothing so detailed as a village or country map though! Maybe just a diagram of the whole region- just something with major geographical features and regions- could help us sort this all out without any unnecessary unpleasantness... "

* * *

Inoichi Yamanaka frowned as he signed in with the secretary manning the desk in front of the holding area. It wasn't often that Ibiki called for his help with an interrogation, and even rarer that he would do it this late into the evening. With that in mind, Inoichi quickly maneuvered through the winding cell block until he saw Ibiki standing beside one of the doors. The heavily scarred man was quick to greet the new arrival, stepping up to shake his hand. "Good to see you Inoichi. I hate to pull you away from the family at this time of night, but this is an urgent situation."

"Well, if it's that important, there's no helping it. So, what's going on?" Ibiki handed Inoichi a clipboard, and he began to quickly read through the contained reports while the heavily scarred man began to give him the rundown of the situation.

"We picked up a pair of intruders about two hours ago. They were carrying gear that suggests that they are combatants, or at least have combat training, but they don't have any identifying features that would point to their village of origin. On top of that, when I began to interrogate them, they promised to cooperate with us right away, but as soon as I asked where they were from, they gave a series of bullshit names and claimed not to recognize any of the Elemental Countries."

"Odd..." Inoichi looked up at the other interrogator, pausing his reading for a moment. "Are you sure that they aren't just from some secluded village in one of the lesser countries? If they were being manipulated by someone else, they could have been brought here with no knowledge of the area outside of what they were told."

"Trust me, that's one of the first things that I thought of. I even had Mishima run through the names they gave us through the intel we've gathered, but there were no matches on that front either. But more that than that, the more I talked to either of those two, the less they seemed like patsies for someone else..." Ibiki shifted in place for a brief moment, seemingly looking for the right words. "You know the stronger someone is, the more it shows in how they carry themselves?"

Cocking one eyebrow in confusion, Inoichi looked up from the clipboard at his boss. "Yeah? But you know, it could just be that they're overconfident in themselves rather than actually having anything to back it up."

Ibiki's scowl deepened. "Don't be a smartass, Inoichi. Of course I know that. But at the same time, these two carry themselves with the same weight that I've only seen with S rankers. People like the Professor, or the Sannin."

Though Inoichi wouldn't have thought it possible, he felt his eyebrow creep even higher in response to that statement. "You're exaggerating. I doubt that they would have been captured so easily if they were on that level."

Ibiki fixed him with a stare, unconsciously letting a small amount of killing intent slip out as his frustration became more evident. "I'm perfectly serious. Overconfident people like you're talking about always try and show off how strong they think they are, even when they're just sitting around. But not those two. The white haired one handles himself like Orochimaru did- and from the way that he acted in there, he's had plenty of experience on the other side of conversations like that. And his partner is even more unnerving. No matter what I did in there, he never once showed any sign of concern, or even really a response. Not even when I hit him with a shot of killing intent powerful enough that a jonin would be put on their ass."

Inoichi was silent for a minute before replying, working over the information in his head. "... You know, if what you're saying is right, and we do have two A to S rank combatants in that cell, then we should have heard of them before now. You don't just get to that level without having some exposure somewhere along the line. Even if we've never gotten their names, there should be something about them floating around."

"That was exactly my thought. But nobody matching even their general description can be found in our records. And that's why I brought you in. I want to know everything about those two. I want to know where they're from, why they're here, what they can do, their first kiss, their damn favorite food. Everything you can possibly get. Got it?" Ibiki punctuated the question by forcefully pointing at Inoichi.

Giving a short nod, Inoichi handed the clipboard back to Ibiki. "Got it. Give me fifteen minutes and I'll have your answers for you."

"Good. I knew that I could count on you this. Now then, get in there." As soon he finished, Ibiki turned and walked away from the cell, leaving Inoichi to his work.

After gathering his thoughts for a second, Inoichi entered the interrogation room. As he moved to take a seat, he took note of the two prisoners held within, who had been separated to the opposite sides of the room, and both had their hands shackled to a small table in front of them. . " _Quiet, calm and composed... Just like Ibiki was saying. Well, at least it shouldn't be too hard to get them to co-operate."_

Sitting across the (though still making sure that both were well within his line of sight), Inoichi addressed the pair. "Hello there, I'm Inoichi. Ibiki brought me in to perform a quick lie-detection technique on the two of you- just to verify your stories, of course. I'm sure that you have nothing to hide, so let's begin, shall we?"

"We certainly don't. In fact, I would like to volunteer to have this procedure performed on me first, as we've already caused you all more than enough trouble! If this is what you need to do to resolve this whole misunderstanding, then I welcome it." Hanbei was quick to respond.

"Well, I must say that it's refreshing to do this for someone so enthusiastic! But, you see..." As he spoke, Inoichi turned towards the larger of the pair, finishing a short string of handseals. "...If you really have nothing to hide, then you certainly wouldn't mind if I question your partner first." Not waiting for any kind of response, Inoichi immediately placed his hands on top of HIdeyoshi's, and began his questioning. "What is your name?"

Unfazed by the sudden questioning, Hideyoshi simply stared down at the Yamanaka as he gave a terse answer."Toyotomi Hideyoshi."

"Where are you right now?"

"A cell under Konohagakure."

"What is your favorite color?"

Hideyoshi's scowl deepened. "Is a point to these questions?"

"These questions serve to provide a baseline response so that I can tell if there any fluctuations that might indicate that you are lying during the rest of the test. So, yes. Now, I could get an answer?" Inoichi stared down Hideyoshi, subtly tensing in case things took a turn for the worse.

The pair stared each other in silence for the better part of a minute before Hideyoshi broke the standoff with a snort. "Fine. I have none."

"Do you have any hostile intentions against the Leaf?"

"No."

"Do you have any loyalty to any of the Elemental Countries, or any other Hidden Village?"

"No."

"Where were you raised?" The corner of Hideyoshi's mouth quirked downwards briefly, but he answered without further complaint.

"A small town in Owari named Ōguchi." With that answer, Inoichi's hands began to glow a faint blue as his jutsu began to truly work. What he had called a lie detecting jutsu was actually a variation of the mind walk that was meant to draw out and show memories tied with strong emotions to the user. It traded much of the speed and precision of Inoichi's usual mind reading jutsu for the ability to penetrate deeply into the target's psyche, allowing him to read memories from much farther back in their lives without risking major damage to the subject's psyche.

Now, as he was questioning this man, Inoichi was treated to snapshots of a life long past by; of a young child growing up in a small farming village and dreaming of greater things before finally setting out on his own to see the world. Putting that aside for the moment, he continued. "Where did you learn how to fight?"

There was a long pause before Hideyoshi answered that question. "I learned the basics at a dojo in Kaga. I developed the rest through experience."

Another flash of memories accompanied the response, even more vivid than the last. These were all dominated by one person, a wild looking young man. A man who always seemed to be dragging Hideyoshi into precarious situations- crashing temples, stealing the signs from dojos, chasing wild boar- that they would then escape by the narrowest of margins. The long series of memories ended with the pair sitting on a placid hilltop, a late spring breeze filling the air with cherry blossom petals. "How did you arrive here?"

This answer came immediately. "As Hanbei said; I don't know."

The next surge of memories obviously took place long after the previous burst in time a great deal. The young man from before was gone, replaced by another, this one's face set in grim determination. Fingers white as he clenched his armored fists tightly, his hands blazing with golden energy, the yellow clad man- _successor-_ propelled himself towards Hideyoshi. After that, a surge of blinding light, and then, nothing. It wasa more difficult to remain focused on the real world as the emotional moment played, but Inoichi pressed on."What is it that you are looking for?"

"Strength. True strength."The surge of memories following this response was the strongest yet. The back of a man standing in a black and white robe, one hand clenched behind his back. The smiling face of a woman, forever silenced in the pursuit of something greater. Fields, filled with the broken bodies of so many men, dead in his name, lives sacrificed for the greater good. A growing band of powerful men, willing to do anything for his cause, including a smiling boy, all in yellow. The face of that same boy, paired with a disappointed vagabond, and accompanied with lingering feelings of doubt and regret. The powerful emotional response was enough to force Inoichi to break contact with the man, though he was able to play it off.

"Well then, it looks like everything that you've said checks out." Turning around so that he could rest his hands on the other prisoner's, Inoichi continued. "Now then, it's your turn. I can assume that you know the drill?"

The white haired man gave a slight smile as he replied. "Of course."

"Well then, let's get started." Focusing on his jutsu, Inoichi began the questioning. "What is your name?"

"Takenaka Hanbei." Hanbei's responses came far faster than his partner's, though they didn't sound forced. They were delivered with a smooth charisma, rather than the forceful statements that Hideyoshi had given.

"What is your favorite color?"

"Violet."

"Have you been in the Village Hidden in the Leaves before?"

"No."

"Do you harbor any hostile intentions towards this village?"

"No."

"Do you have any loyalty to any of the Elemental Countries, or any other Hidden Village?"

"None."

"Where were you raised?"

"Kitagata, in the province of Mino." The question was enough for Inoichi's jutsu to take hold on Hanbei, just as it had on Hideyoshi. Inoichi now saw a small, sickly child who took refuge in whatever books he could find. He watched as the child found a love for strategy games, and began to cultivate his skills."Where did you learn how to fight?"

Hanbei's smirk widened into a genuine smile as he answered. "I was a samurai in the service of the Saito clan, once. It was there that I developed my skills."

The memories this time were of a young man, working his way up through the ranks of the clan, before finally overturning the whole family in a sudden coup. A delegation came shortly after, bearing a message from another region. The memory then jumps ahead, stopping when Hanbei finally met the newest general of the Oda, an ambitious man who was everything that Hanbei wanted to be. As soon as the general offered him a place by his side, he accepted, knowing that he would give his life for this man. Inoichi continued with the questioning, pushing through the strong emotions associated with that moment. "How did you arrive here?"

"I'm afraid that I still have no idea how that happened." Another surge of memories was associated with the response- this time centered around a middle aged man in a long brown coat. His scarred face was twisted in anger as he cut his way through Hanbei's men. The rest of the memory was a jumble of color and sound, intercut with feelings of weakness and regret. Eventually, the white haired man felt his body give out on him, as he fell backwards over the seaside cliff that the pair had been battling on. The memory went black before he even hit the water. Inoichi's jutsu began to waver under the strength of the response, but he continued the questioning nonetheless. "What is it that you're looking for?"

"A way to help the one closest to me." Much like his companion, the emotional response to this question was the strongest yet. This latest string of memories was a jumble of late night talks with Hideyoshi, what appeared to be planning sessions with the pair hovering over maps of an unrecognizable country, talking with promising new recruits in order to see how they could contribute to his plans, and what seemed to be the results of hundreds of hours spent alone, drafting out secret missions and plans, just to ensure that everything goes according to plan. All of these were bound together by one common factor- a deep, unwavering loyalty to Hideyoshi. As this rush of memories brought the jutsu to an end, Inoichi pushed himself back from the table as he stood.

"I have everything that I need now. Thank you for your co-operation. Ibiki should be getting back to you sometime soon." With that, Inoichi excused himself from the room.

Quickly exiting the cell block, Inoichi headed straight to Ibiki's office, writing a summary of the memories that he had observed as he walked. Entering the small room, he found the T&I captain sitting at his desk, going over several reports, though he snapped to attention as soon as he heard the door open. "What do you have for me, Inoichi?"

Inoichi tossed the clipboard with his preliminary report onto Ibiki's desk."Well, I can definitely tell you that they were telling you the truth."

Ibiki leaned back in his chair, somewhat surprised by the bluntness of the statement. "About what?"

"Everything. As far as I can tell, they have no idea what the Elemental Countries are, much less how they arrived here." Ibiki's face hardened at that, as he suddenly leaned forwards, hands steepled in front of him.

"And how exactly is that possible?" Ibiki ground the question out, though he made it sound more like a statement.

Taking a seat across from the scarred man, Inoichi continued. "From their memories, they seem to be from a different land- maybe even a different world. As for not knowing how they got here, both of their last memories seem to involve them dying."

"Dying? So they're reanimations? I think we would have noticed something like that by now, Inoichi!" Ibiki's killing intent flared for a brief second before the man brought his emotions back under control.

Inoichi leaned back at the outburst, holding a hand up."Hey, I'm just telling you what I found! They looked perfectly healthy to me as well."

Ibiki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Alright, I'll trust you on what you're saying- for now, at least. But what I need to know now is if either of those two are a threat to the village, and how to deal with them if they are."

Inoichi gestured to the report on Ibiki's desk. "If we give them a reason to be a threat, they will be. If half of the memories I saw from them are correct, you were absolutely right about them being S ranked. But right now, they don't have any reason to go against us, and won't unless someone gives them a really good one."

Ibiki seemed to be somewhat relieved at that bit of information. "It's good to know that we don't have an immediate threat sitting down there. But still, this is going to need a lot more attention. I'm getting a meeting with the Hokage, and I need you there to tell her what you've just told me."

Inoichi sighed, mourning the loss of a good night's sleep. "Alright. I imagine that we're going right now?" Ibiki merely nodded in response, and the two men stood to leave the room almost as one. Heading out of the office, they prepared to break the news to the Hokage, not knowing that this was only the first incident of many to come.


	4. Hot Blood Boiling

Neji hated it when a mission was more complicated than it needed to be. This one had been simple on paper, at least. Go to Yutakana Village, clear out a group of bandits that have been harassing travelers, and report back. An easy B rank mission, when all was said and done. When they actually got there, however, it was a different story. The bandits had divided into two groups- something that the team found out after three days of surveillance, watching their patrols go back and forth. Finally, they tracked them back to their camps, which had been entrenched in the mountains surrounding the village. That added another two days to their missions. It was then that the team had found out the reason that this whole ordeal had taken so long.

The Fire & LIghtning brothers, a pair of A ranked missing ninja had taken command of the bandits. With their leadership, the bandits had become a force to be reckoned with. As such, Team Gai had to split to take out the band without any of them scattering. Gai and Lee had gone to take out the camp in the north, while he and Tenten was left with one to the east. The actual fight was resolved without too much effort, with the pair clearing out the camp with a coordinated effort, but the real complications came after they left the camp.

"Give me a break! They're still not here?! It's been half an hour!" The pair had been waiting at their appointed rendezvous point-a poorly maintained stretch of byway that had been all but deserted because of the bandit activity, winded and caked with dirt and blood. Tenten had just finished resealing the kunai she had used in the camp, while Neji stoically continued scanning the area with his Byakugan.

"I can't see them either. At this point, we can only assume that they've run into trouble. We need to start moving that direction." Tenten's expression hardened at that, a small flash of worry crossing her face as she began to rapidly rewind her scrolls. As she did that, Neji concentrated for a second more. "Wait."

Pausing as she rewound the last of her scrolls, Tenten turned back towards Neji. "What is it?"

Neji gestured towards the west. "Movement, about 300 meters out. Looks like a civilian on horseback, lightly armored."

Tenten's attention shifted in the direction that he had pointed, holding a scroll at the ready. "If it's just a civilian, then why bother pointing it out?" Tenten asked, fully focused on the road before her.

"Because he just turned so that he's coming straight at us. He'll be here in less than a minute, so let's play it safe." With only a terse nod as a reply from Tenten, the pair readied themselves. Neji was proven right as a few seconds later a cloud of dust came billowing up the path. The cloud barely obscured a single rider, who stopped as soon as they were close enough to see the two ninja clearly. As soon as he stopped, he began to wave at the pair.

"Hey! You all wouldn't have happened to see another pair of riders come through here, would ya?" Neji and Tenten paused before replying, using a few seconds to observe the rider. He was a youngish man, looking no older than his late twenties, black hair pulled back into a short ponytail. Like Neji said, he wasn't wearing the symbol of any village, and didn't seem to be carrying any weapons other than an old, worn looking katana. His clothes were similar, worn traveling garments, with the edges of an old chainmail shirt peeking out from underneath. All and all, both of the ninja would describe him as entirely forgettable.

"No. I can't say that we have." Neji was the first to reply, his words civil, but direct. Just because he didn't look like a threat didn't mean that the Hyūga was willing to trust him just yet.

"Oh? That's too bad." The man paused, looking pensively up at the sky. It was then that it became evident that he had part of a blade of grass sticking out of his mouth, and he chewed as he thought. "I don't want to trouble you none, but I'm looking for my partners. You see, we were hired to escort a caravan to Yutakana, but they got split from the group a ways back. I've heard that there's bandit trouble in these here parts, and I don't want them to get caught up in any of that sort of nonsense." Looking back at the pair, the man did a double take, as he seemingly saw their headbands for the first time. "Why, as I live and breathe! Don't tell me that you're the ninjas that got hired to deal with all that?!"

"Yeah, that's us alright? What's it to ya?" Tenten replied to that with a scowl, as she couldn't quite tell if she should be flattered or offended by the way that he had said that. The man got the message, as he shied away from them, both hands held up.

"Hey, no disrespect here! Fact, it's a real honor. I've never had the chance to meet a ninja like this, you see!" Pausing, the man seemed to consider something again. "Hey, you know, maybe the two of you could help me out with my search! I'll be more than happy to make it worth your while, of course!"

"I'm sorry, but we really have to go. Our own mission isn't complete, and we have to hurry and meet with the rest of our team. I'm sorry that we can't help you further, sir." Neji gestured to Tenten, and she nodded, quickly finishing her preparations.

"Please, it's just Nisuke! And let me accompany you that far at least? It is getting late after all, and I don't want to be out here by my lonesome- you know, with all these bandits." Neji grit his teeth, holding back a sigh.

"I hardly think that you would be able to keep up, Nisuke-san, even if we were to do that. Just return to town. I'm sure that the people you are looking for are already waiting there for you." Neji glanced back over at Tenten, who nodded to show that she was ready to go.

"Ah hell, I don't think that'll be a problem! I may not be no fancy ninja, but I'm a hell of a horse rider!" Neji took a deep breath, preparing himself for another round of this, when Tenten cut him off.

"Fine! If you want to follow us, go ahead! But when you can't keep up, we're not going to be coming back for you, alright!" Confused, Neji turned to look at her, but she pulled him in before he could say anything again, and whispered to him. "Look, it's risky, but we can't afford to lose any more time at this point! Besides, you were the one who said that he looks like a civilian, right?"

Furrowing his brow, Neji whispered back. "I don't like this. His chakra coils look undeveloped, but at the same time, they're hazy. Like I can't get a clear look at them."

"If he turns out to be one of them, we can deal with that there as well as we can here. Now, come on!" Almost hissing the last part, Tenten launched away from the point before Neji could argue further, leaving him to keep pace right behind her. Behind them, Nisuke followed with a quick shout of thanks.

* * *

The three had been traveling traveled for almost half an hour when they reached the northern camp. Surprisingly, Nisuke was as good of a horseman as he said he was. He kept pace with the two young ninja as they went, and arrived at the compound only a few seconds after them. All three stopped at the front entrance of the makeshift fortress; Nisuke quickly dismounted to join the two ninja.

"Well, they definitely made it here…" Tenten said, gesturing to the front gates that hung askew, dented as if they they had been blown inwards by a massive force. "Can you see them, Neji?"

Activating his Byakugan, Neji began to quickly scan the compound. "There's still fighting further in. We need to hurry." He turned back to Nisuke, who was tying up his mount next to a trio of other horses. "This must be where we part ways, Nisuke-san. It's simply too dangerous for you past this point."

"No can do, Mr. Ninja. My partners are in there, I'm sure of it. These are their horses, you see. How could I call myself a man if I didn't go in after them?" With a determined look, Nisuke grabbed the hilt of his sword and began walking towards to open. "Now, I don't care whether y'all approve or not, but I'm going in."

Before he could get more than a few steps, he was flanked by Neji and Tenten; the latter of whom looked back at him with a smile. "If your conviction is that strong, then I guess we don't a have a choice. But we're not going to slow down for you, alright! So keep up, or you'll be left behind!" With that, the three moved into the compound.

The inside of the bandit's camp was no better than the front gates. The ground was littered with the broken bodies, the structures had been devastated, and small fires raged throughout the wreckage. The pair of ninja barely spared so much as a second glance to the carnage, while Nisuke continuously scanned the surroundings, looking for any sign of life. This went on for a good five minutes, until Neji brought the group to a halt with a gesture.

"The fighting is three hundred meters more in that direction. Prepare yourselves." The other two members of the party replied with silent nods, readying their weapons. The trio began to cautiously advance again, on the lookout for any threats. They didn't get far, however, as their advance was suddenly interrupted.

In a massive cloud of dust and splinters, a green blur slammed into the side of a hut several doors down from the group, followed closely by an accompanying red blur. As the dust quickly settled, the group could see a young man in a bright red leather jacket locked in a struggle with a jumpsuit wearing teenager. The teen was pinned against the wall, holding off one of his opponent's spears with each hand.

"Lee!" Tenten was the first to react, opening her scroll towards the man in red, while Neji tensed, preparing to dash forwards himself. As soon as they did so, each of them found the blade of a familiar worn katana pressed against their throat.

"Sorry about this, kids, but I can't just let you attack the Boss like that. It'd make me look bad, ya know?" Nisuke was now standing on both sides of the pair, having duplicated in the second that Neji's focus had shifted. As the pair looked, the air around him seemed to shimmer, with waves of darkness falling away from both copies. The darkness steadily thickened, but a loud crash pulled the shinobi's attention forwards to Lee.

Lee had just kicked outwards, planting both of his feet on the other man's chest, propelling the pair into the walls on opposing sides of the street- Lee's opponent impacting with a considerable amount more force as he broke through the wall entirely. Despite that, it was only a moment before he recovered, leaping out of the hole in the wall to run back towards the shinobi. Lee responded by throwing one of the man's own spears back at him- having held onto them while kicking free- before charging forwards himself. Catching the spear moments before it would have pierced his chest, the stranger gave it a quick spin before stabbing forwards. The clack of wood meeting wood rang out as Lee brought his captured spear up to block, and the pair quickly seemed devolve into a red and green flurry fo motion as they traded blows.

As the fighting redoubled between the pair, the rest of Gai's students took the chance to substitute away from the men threatening them. In a flash, they appeared on the other side of the street, looking back at the two clouds of shadow standing next to a pair of broken water barrels. Almost as soon as they did that, the shadows surrounding Nisuke vanished, revealing a very different person.

While his build was mostly the same, the man now had a mane of shoulder length, light brown hair that spilled back out from a headpiece that called to mind the happuri worn by the Second Hokage, though Nisuke's covered his chin as well. The headpiece tied into the rest of his apparel, as he was now obviously wearing armor over his entire body; with only a camo patterned shawl and pants covering the chain mail that tucked into the thick greaves and vambraces covering his extremities. Most concerningly, however, was that what had appeared as a katana was just one blade of what appeared to be an oversized version of a three bladed koga shuriken. Both copies now held two of this strange weapon, one held where the Konoha shinobi's throats had been moments before. As the Konoha ninja took this all in, the copies turned their head as one, looking towards them before speaking in unison.

"Looks like you kids are no joke! You know, if you would just turn tail, I'd let you leave?" Tenten and Neji's eyes both narrowed at this.

"Like we'd let you get off that easy! Besides, the only kind of person that I hate more than traitors are cowards!" Tenten yelled down at Nisuke as she unsealed a handful of kunai. As she prepared to throw this first barrage, one of the copies began to sadly shake its head.

"I can't argue with that… All I can say is that I don't like this job one bit." As soon as the copy finished speaking, Neji caught a wisp of shadow beginning to rise from the roof behind him.

"Tenten!" Even as the word was leaving his lips, Neji and Tenten both launched into motion, feeling the faintest breeze as a third Nisuke rose up from the wood, just missing their backs with a wide double handed slash. Tenten cut left running further along the rooftop as she threw her prepared shuriken at the ambusher. Bringing the pair of shuriken back to his chest, he managed to deflect the projectiles before being blown back to a cloud of darkness as exploding tag hidden on one of the kunai detonated.

Meanwhile, Neji had charged towards the pair still on the ground. Both copies of Nisuke responded with a charge of their own- one along the ground, while the other leapt into the air to meet the Hyūga head on. As the two met in the air, Neji slammed his palm into Nisuke's chest, releasing a spike of chakra into the man's heart. His body stiffened momentarily before exploding into a burst of black shadows. The grounded Nisuke capitalized on this opportunity, throwing one of his shuriken straight up at Neji. Pivoting to meet the projectile, Neji easily deflected the weapon away with a jyuken strike, only for a pitch black outline of his opponent to materialize in it's wake. In an instant, the shadow struck Neji in the stomach with an all too solid leg, sending him spinning upwards before vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

Deftly flipping to the side to avoid a wave of kunai coming from the roof, Nisuke threw his other shuriken up at the disoriented Hyuga as another pair of clones raced out from his shadow to scale the neighboring buildings. Rapidly ejecting chakra, Neji spun into a midair Kaiten, violently deflecting Nisuke's weapon away. As the rotation came to an end, Neji faced downwards once again. Thrusting his palm forwards with a shout of "Hakke Kūshō!", Neji launched a powerful shockwave towards the ground. Barely dodging the impact with an almost casual backflip, Nisuke pulled his weapons back towards him via an almost invisible wire. Just as he caught the massive shuriken, Neji landed on his feet, a small burst of chakra shielding him from the shock of landing. The two men stared each other down for a brief moment, neither flinching as another Nisuke fell from the roof and evaporated into shadows. The two again charged towards one another, only to desperately break it off as the road between them exploded into a massive cloud of dust. Even with his enhanced vision, Neji could only just make out a figure within the cloud getting to its knees before he heard an all too familiar yell.

" _ **DYNAMIC ENTRY!"**_ With a sound like a cannonball striking a block of iron, a green blur struck the figure in the center of the cloud. The resulting shockwave blew the dust away with such force that Nisuke and Neji both had to brace themselves to keep from being caught up in the blast. Recovering, everyone standing around the impact site stopped to look at the cause. In the center of a crater now stood a giant of a man holding an equally massive axe made in the shape of a war fan.

Like Nisuke, he had thick armor covering his shins and forearms, as well as an armored head piece, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Nisuke's outfit was clearly built with some amount of subtly in mind, his was built to be as ostentatious as possible. Aside from the arm and leg coverings, the only other armor that he wore was a small skirt of similar red plates tied under a narrow strip of chainmail. A narrow piece of gold armor covering the very center of his chest connected this to the lower part of the headpiece, but the majority of his upper body was clad in skintight tiger hide, while his lower half was similarly unarmored with goldenrod yellow hakama connecting to the greaves. Despite all of this, the most centerpoint of the man's extravagant look was the head of a long shock of red fur that had been worked into a stylized mane stretching halfway down the man's back and a pair of bull like horns that curved forwards and upwards to add another foot and a half to his already impressive six and a half feet height, the helmet was incredibly eye catching- and almost purely decorative. The only armor that it added was the attached throat guard and two strips of armor that hung to either side of his face.

This new arrival half stood, bracing his axe with both hands while Gai almost mirrored his position, sticking to the other side of the weapon. The pair only held that pose for a moment before separating; Gai flipping back away from his opponent while the newcomer settled back into a ready stance. The pair locked eyes with each other for another couple of seconds before Gai broke the silence. "My precious students! Have we been keeping you waiting for that long?!"

"I see that you've come here as well, Sasuke." The other man visibly lowered his guard as he spoke, resting his axe head down on the ground.

"Yes, Oyakat-" Neji interrupted Nisuke, moving closer to his team leader. "Yes Gai-sensei. We were worried after you and Lee failed to arrive at the planned time, and figured it was best to try and come to help you."

"Well, there's no more need to worry! I was just engaging a contest of youth with Shingen-san here!", Gai said, giving his signature nice guy pose.

"Hm." Nodding in affirmation, Shingen replied. "It's not often that you have the chance to face someone with such hot blood, after all! This has been good for Yukimura, as well."

As the two men talked, Neji, Tenten, and Nisuke's faces all slowly fell, realizing what had happened. As Tenten was opening her mouth to yell something at her sensei, a hot wind blew across the group, drawing their attention back down the street, where Lee and Yukimura hadn't paused in their own fight- the young spear wielder knocking his opponent into one of the unoccupied buildings before pursuing him into the wreckage.

"Speaking of our students, it appears that they're about to finish their own match." Simply nodding in response, Shingen turned with Gai in silent agreement. Doing the same, the others turned just in time to catch the echoes of a yell.

" **Konoha Shōfū!"** With a crash, Yukimura was sent rocketing out of the wreckage into the air above the road. At the apex of his flight, Lee appeared directly under him, floating for a brief second before wrapping Yukimura with bandages. Before he could react, the pair began to spin while falling, rotating ever faster as the ground rushed closer. Seconds before they impacted, however, Yukimura managed to tear a single arm free. Stabbing down at the ground with his one free spear, Yukimura began to add his own momentum to the spin, further accelerating the rotations. A red whirlwind formed around the pair as the air began to heat, and they began to slowly slide down the road as the superheated spearhead melted a track through the ground. Rotations still increasing in speed, Lee's bandages began to burn away in the air currents as they moved even faster down the road. Finally, the bandages charred enough to snap, causing both combatants to fly apart into the walls on opposing sides of the streets. Impacting with a massive "THUD," Lee and Yukimura both made halfhearted attempts to stand back up and fight, before slumping back down and lying still.

Back at the other end of the road, Lee's teammates and Nisuke stood and watched the end of the battle with wide eyes- Neji having deactivated his Byakugan after turning a faint shade of green. On the other hand, Shingen and Gai both looked on with expressions of pride. "Splendid, Yukimura, splendid!" Turning back towards Gai, he continued. 'I apologize. I just wanted to see how strong young Yukimura has grown."

"No worries! I, too, was most curious to see how my Lee would measure up to you pupil's youth! But, now I fear that we must bring our own fight to an end. I'm going to put everything that I have into this next blow!" Gai settled back into a readied stance as he talked.

"Then I shall do the same. Come! Show me your burning soul!" Leaving his axe embedded in the ground, Shingen stepped forwards, fists raised.

"First Gate, Gate of Opening! Open!" The wind again kicked up as Guy was enveloped in a bright green aura.

"As swift as the wind!" Drawing his fist back, Shingen was enveloped in a raging crimson aura of his own, throwing his mane about wildly.

"Second Gate, Gate of Healing! Open!"

"As silent as the forest!"

" **Third Gate, Gate of Life! Open!"**

" **As fierce as the fire!"**

" **Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain! Open!**

" **As immovable as the mountain!"**

" **FIFTH GATE, GATE OF LIMIT! OPEN!"**

" **FŪRINKAZAN!"**

" **SIXTH GATE, GATE OF VIEW! OPEN!"**

With a deafening roar, the two men struck towards each other- both almost completely obscured by their overflowing auras. Their fists collided with each other head on, releasing a tremendous shockwave that blew all three onlookers several feet backwards along the ground. The energy echoed through both of them before continuing on into the surroundings. Behind Shingen, a massive trench was carved through the earth and buildings until it gouged out a large chunk of the mountain the camp had been built into. Meanwhile, an equally massive tornado had sprung into existence behind Gai, and was slowly chewing through the camp as it moved forwards, flashes of lightning illuminating the towering funnel. Both men remained standing in the same position for almost half a minute before falling to their knees, the energy surrounding them gone as quickly as it had appeared. Both clutched their arms, which were quickly turning an ugly blue black while blood seeped through their sleeves and off their knuckles.

"It seems… That we have a tie." Gai spoke first, managing to smile even as he winced from the pain.

"Hn. A shame… You are a man I would have felt no shame losing to." Shingen said, features remaining as stern as ever.

"Heh! We'll just have to have a rematch then…." Both were silent for a few seconds more, before falling forwards and passing out in unison. Silence prevailed for several minutes as those still conscious could only stare at the pair's fallen bodies. Finally, Nisuke spoke up to break it.

"So… Those two do this often?" Snorting in spite of herself, Tenten answered.

"You have no idea." Looking between the unconscious bodies of both of his bosses, Nisuke waited a minute before responding.

"You know, I have a better idea than you would think."

* * *

Almost twenty minutes later, several clones had carried the wounded over to the horses waiting by the gates. Neji and Tenten both administered first aid there, binding the men's numerous injuries before securing them to the mounts. It was then that Gai and Shingen both regained consciousness, and both immediately asked to know what had happened without them. Several minutes later, Tenten and Nisuke had relayed the entire series of events, with a few clarifications from Neji.

"I see that I must apologize for my part in this confusion. To start, let us be properly introduced. I am Takeda Shingen." Gesturing to the young man in red currently draped over the back of a horse, he continued. "This is my loyal retainer and pupil, Sanada Yukimura, and the man you know as Nisuke is his ninja, Sarutobi Sasuke."

Still standing off to the side, Sasuke had the good grace to look abashed as he smiled towards Tenten and Neji. "Sorry for not telling you, but it's not like there was much of an opportunity back when we were trying to kill each other."

Neji simply nodded in return before turning to address Shingen. "I'm certain that our teacher has already told you who we are, but if he hasn't, allow me. I am Hyūga Neji, jōnin of Konoha, and this is my teammate Tenten, chūnin of Konoha. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Neji finished with a polite bow.

"It's nice to meet you and all, but where are we going from here?" Tenten cut in only a few seconds after Neji finished.

"Good question, my youthful student! Shingen-san has graciously offered to hire us to escorting them back to Konoha!" Tenten could only stare back in response, expression flat.

Half a minute passed before she was able to formulate a response. "Come again?"

Shingen again nodded, drawing her attention. "We seem to have been brought to this place against our will, and as such need a guide. Yukimura and I came across your teacher and partner as we scouted, and saw how they fought against these bandits."

Gai cut in at this point, laughing."You're too modest! They joined in the fight themselves, showing their youthful spirits to the fullest! As we traded blows side by side, I knew then that they were trustworthy fellows!"

Chuckling as well, Shingen resumed. "Yes, well, I will admit that I was also stirred by your spirit in return. After the battle was one, I made the offer, and your teacher accepted- with one condition. He would bring us back to your village if we could cross fists. Of course, it is an honor to fight with someone so skilled."

"Yosh! To clash, blood boiling with such ferocity- It was more than I could have asked for! Our deal has truly been paid in full!" Gai smiled, shooting a thumbs up to his sparring partner.

Again, Neji, Tenten, and Sasuke could only stare at their superiors before shaking their heads as one. Tenten recovered the quickest, moving to the front of the group. "Well, whatever. Let's get moving before we're even later getting back. Who knows what we'll miss in that case…"


	5. Tanzaku Quarter Blues

The air was filled with the sounds of drunken revelry and bustling casinos as Jiraiya's group entered town. The sage paused in the middle of the street, stopping in order to take a deep breath. "Ah... Smell that, kid? That's the smell of paradise right there!"

"Smells like booze, cheap perfume, and smoke to me. Why are we stopping here anyway? I thought that were trying to get back as fast as possible!" Naruto shot back, fairly winded by the day's long trip.

"Show some respect brat! Tanzaku is one of the crown jewels of the Land of Fire, and you should be happy to be back here! And we are getting back as fast as possible. We're going to spend the night here so that we can make it back to Konoha in one burst tomorrow. Now then, go get us a room. I'm going to go... scope out the area." Before anyone could respond, Jiraiya was already gone, leaving the other three standing alone in the street. Naruto sighed, turning back to his new traveling partners.

"Sorry about that... He's always like this." Ieyasu just laughed in response and waved the comment off.

"It's not your fault! In fact, he reminds me of someone else that that I know..." Naruto began to walk down the road, putting his hands behind his head as he turned.

"Well, I'm sure that he's a pain too, whoever he is. Well, I guess we should go find a hotel before it gets too late to get a good room. Though, is your friend going to be okay with that?" Ieyasu began to walk alongside Naruto, the crowd of civilians parting slightly for the group of obviously experienced men.

"Tadakatsu? He'll be fine with whatever you choose. After all, he can take the armor off if he needs to. Though, he does prefer staying in places with a good bathhouse attached. It was actually just last week when we were talking-." The group had walked around three blocks when their conversation was interrupted by a sudden shout of "Hey! Ieyasu!"

"I thought that you were completely separated from where you came from..." Naruto and Ieyasu both began to look for the caller, while Tadakatsu stood ready, scanning the crowd for threats.

"So did..." The two men quickly identified the source of the voice. A large casino dominated the right side of the street, with large signs proudly displaying the name Ryūgū-jō. Large arches left much of the front room open to the street, with a number of black suited bouncers standing around the entrances. What really drew the pairs' attention, however, was a man standing near one of the craps tables. He was youngish looking, no older than his early twenties. He stood out from the surrounding crowd in several ways, from the red streak that covered the entire left side of his hair, to the cocky way that he held himself, and especially the armor that was covering most of his upper body and his legs, marking him as a seasoned fighter. But the thing that made him most notable to the travelers was the fact that he was turned away from the table, and staring at Ieyasu with his mouth hanging slightly agape. As Naruto turned back to his new companion to see why he stopped talking so suddenly, he saw that he was looking back with a similar expression. "... Sakon?"

The other man laughed weakly in response, slowly walking towards the pair. "It's been a while, hasn't it..."

Ieyasu, in comparison, had not moved an inch from when this started. His voice was barely above a whisper as he replied. "This is impossible... I was told that you died in Osaka."

Standing between the two, Naruto was left looking back and forth between them in confusion. "Alright, one of you really needs to tell me what's going on, because I'm really lost right now."

Sakon seemed to brighten at that, losing his shocked expression what seemed like an instant. He turned to the shinobi and flashed him a smile as he replied. "Ah, I'm sorry! I should fill you in on who I am, since it seems like _someone_ hasn't mentioned me! You see, me and him met a long while ago, back when I was first joining-" It was at this point that he was cut off by someone from the table behind him.

"Excuse me sir, but if you recall, you're currently the shooter. Please move this along." Sakon froze, looking back over his shoulder at the stickman, before slowly looking down at his hand, which happened to still be clenched around a pair of dice.

"Right. Hold on for a second guys, I need to take care of this." With that, Sakon quickly blew on his hand before tossing the dice backwards over his shoulder. The dice quickly hit the ceiling, before banking back down onto the table. A few seconds later, the stickman called "Two craps two! Collect your bets!" Sakon turned back to Ieyasu and Naruto with a cocky smile.

"So, let's continue? Why don't you guys walk and talk with me while I go cash out? Though, Tadakatsu probably has to stay outside... Just like old times, eh?" Extending a hand, Sakon gestured for the others to follow.

"Alright. Just so long as you start with what happened to you." Ieyasu had regained his composure by this point, though he still looked like he had seen a ghost. "Naruto, if you and Tadakatsu want to go get that room, I wouldn't mind. I mean, I could hardly ask you to sit and listen to the troubles of someone that you've barely met, after all."

"Screw the room! I said that I wanted to know more about you, so I'm staying." Replied Naruto, drawing the confused glares of several patrons as he almost shouted his words.

"Well then, where do you want me to start? I assume at the beginning, or has he already told you about back then?" Sakon had turned back to the table at this point in order to gather up his prodigious stack of chips.

"I haven't really had the chance to tell him much past my time going from noble house to noble house..." Ieyasu filled in, still struggling to find his voice.

"Oh, you mean your hostage days?" Now cradling his pile of chips, Sakon began to make his way through the crowded casino, deliberately going slow enough to allow Naruto to keep pace at his side. "Well, I met him sometime after that, so I can't tell you much about those. I met this ball of sunshine right here after I joined up with the Toyotomi. He has mentioned Hideyoshi, I assume?" Sakon looked over at Naruto, who gave a small shake of his head in response. "No? Well then, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was one of the biggest, toughest generals around, who dreamed of unifying the land through his strength. Ieyasu and I, as well as several others served under him as vassals. We were like brothers; though I suppose that fighting together really does that for a group."

Naruto cut in, "So this group of yours- you all went on missions together, then?"

Sakon paused in mid-stride for a second before continuing on. "Not really... We were mostly assigned to be troop leaders during attacks, as well as lending a hand to the men during the battles. Anyhow, we all bonded, especially me and this guy, Ishida Mitsunari... I owed him a lot, you see. Ieyasu was really the center of our little group, though. You should have seen him then! Always going around with a smile on his face, like there wasn't a care in the world... He must have befriended every person in our camps, from the servants to Hideyoshi himself! Though, if my memory serves, you were closest to Mitsunari as well, Weren't you?"

Ieyasu still appeared to be lost in thought, though he snapped to attention quickly as soon as it registered that someone had been trying to talk to him. "Hm? Oh, yes... Yes. I was."

"See? Well, everything was great until shortly after we had taken Odawara Castle... You see, we had all been split up to different battlefields, as Hideyoshi was finalizing his hold on the country. I was assigned to subdue a Lord further south, but as I was facing off against her, right out of nowhere- BANG! Tadakatsu shows up to reinforce her! And as you know, Tadakatsu does nothing without Ieyasu's say so. Looking back on it, he had been acting strangely before that- all sullen and withdrawn- but I never saw what happened coming..." Naruto was completely enraptured at this point, barely managing to avoid running into some particularly slow moving patrons as they walked.

"So? What happened?" When he began again, Sakon spoke with uncharacteristic seriousness, his hair hanging low over his eyes as his entire posture lost its vibrant edge and slumped downwards.

"When we all separated, he didn't go to his assigned point. Instead, he rallied his own army and cut Hideyoshi's main force off. He launched a surprise attack, and killed Hideyoshi and his strategist both in one fell swoop." The entire group had to stop walking as Naruto slammed to a halt, almost knocking everyone behind him over. He also attracted the attention of almost half the floor with his next exclamation.

"WHAT?! There's no freakin' way that he could do something like that! Right, Ieyasu?" Naruto turned to the other man for confirmation, but was only greeted by a slow shake of his head.

"No...I did kill them. It was the only thing that I could do. I promise that I'll explain why later, but this is hardly the place for it... In fact, Sakon, you couldn't have waited to tell that part at a better time?" Sakon gave a grim smile, and started walking again.

"Nope. After all, the last part my little tale wouldn't make any sense that way, right?" Not waiting for any sort of reply, Sakon plunged back into his story, his sparkling tone back in full force. "Anyway, I immediately rushed back to Sawayama, where we were all supposed to meet when we had finished our fights. That's where I met up with Mitsunari... He was inconsolable... Well, no, that's not quite the right word. Hideyoshi was his life, his everything. He was so devoted to the man that when he learned of what happened, he snapped. He couldn't even recognize me when we met! I knew that if he could just calm down a bit, start thinking rationally again, then we could work this all out... So, I let him take it out on me. Really tore me up, too! Last thing remember was him snapping out of it, saying my name... Then, I died." The group stopped for a third time, as this time, both Naruto and Ieyasu stopped dead in their tracks, mouth agape.

"You what?!" They both cried, almost in unison. Ieyasu was the only one to continue on, however. "But, that's-"

"Impossible?" Sakon cut him off, with a cocky smirk. He then gave a small shrug before turning around and continuing on towards the cashier's desk. "Well, believe it or not, that's what happened. Last thing I remember is falling to the floor and blacking out, feeling cold as ice, and then waking up in a dumpster behind one of these buildings with my armor and clothes all fixed up like new! I may not know how I got here, or where here really is, but I can definitely tell you that I was dead." He abruptly cut off here, turning to the girl working the cashier's desk with his most charming smile. Dropping his armload of chips onto the counter, he leaned in close, resting his arm on her workspace.

"Though with angels like this, I might just be in paradise!" The cashier came to a sudden stop in her work, turning to expressionlessly stare at Sakon. She held the stare for a solid minute in dead silence, before Sakon coughed awkwardly and slid the chips under the window.

"I'm looking to cash out for the day, and would love if you could put a rush on it... For me?" The awkward silence still continued for the better part of a minute, but the cashier took the pile of chips, replacing it with several stacks of bills. Clearing his throat, Sakon started to thank her, but she had already turned away to the next customer. Shrugging, he turned back to Naruto and Ieyasu.

"Well then, should we head back to your place? After all, it's your turn to fill me in on everything that I've missed!" Hardly waiting for a reply, Sakon just turned and started walking for a door, leaving his companions to rush to follow.

* * *

"Welcome to Mankai, honored custom- Ah! Jiraiya-sama! It's so good to see you again! And after so long, too!" The toad sage gave his most charming smile, and grabbed the hostess's hand.

"It's been a long, lonely three years, Hitomi-chan! Full of tension, intrigue, and yes, a little bit of romance! But, I never stopped thinking of you, or this lovely place. Indeed, in the end, it was the mere memory of your charms that bade me return! So, call over Makie-chan... and Yumiko-chan... and Naoko-chan as well, and I'll tell you all about it- down to the very last detail!" Pulling away, Hitomi laughed softly.

"That sounds most tempting, Jiraiya-sama, but I'm afraid that I am the only person left on call tonight. The rest of the girls are all occupied, as is your favored spot. My apologies."

"What?! How- Why- It's not even that busy in here!" Jiraiya gestured to the wide open space as he talked, indicating that only about half of the tables seemed to be full. He continued, his voice taking on a whine as he started pouting. "Come on, it's me! Your favorite customer! Surely you can make some sort of exception..."

"As you said, it has been three years, Jiraiya-sama. And besides, the guest at your spot is somewhat... special as well." Jiraiya's fallen countenance perked up a bit at that.

"Special?" Hitomi simply nodded in response, before lowering her voice slightly.

"He showed up at our door around a week ago, completely lost. We were just going to let him spend the night, but the girls voted to let him stay until he gets back on feet. And as it happens, he has quite the gift for storytelling as well, and they simply will not let him rest for the evening without telling at least one of his stories- and we both know how often one turns into three, then four... I apologize, but I must insist that you settle for somewhere else right now."

Resignation written across his features, Jiraiya's posture drooped. "Well, if that's the case, then I can't reall- Hey, should he be doing that?" As he spoke, Jiraiya pointed over Hitomi's shoulder to a table near the back of the establishment. Turning back to look at the source of his confusion, she noticed nothing unusual, except a short burst of wind coming from behind her.

By the time that Hitomi looked back at where Jiraiya had been standing, he was already gone. Using a weak shunshin, he was already moving through the silk curtain that separated his private table from the rest of the tea house before she could properly react to his absence. With no hesitation, he took his favorite introduction posture and announced himself to the room. "No, your eyes are not deceiving you! Standing before you is the Sage of Toad Mountain, beloved author, legendary Super Pervert! The man who makes the ladies swoon with every step! Now appearing before you is I, the great Jiraiya!"

The small room went quiet during Jiraiya's introduction, as all eyes were drawn to the newcomer. Jiraiya used this pause to scan the room. Most of the faces were familiar, as five of the geisha on call were fanned around the table , centered around the other guest. This guest was quite the odd figure, as it appeared he had dressed himself with the castoffs of a thrift store. Nothing in his outfit was symmetrical, from the yellow, white fur lined kimono with a torn off sleeve worn over one arm, to the armored red undershirt worn over his chest and one arm (not the one that should be covered by the kimono either, noted Jiraiya), and especially not the zebra striped leg and arm coverings (which looked almost thick enough to be armor in themselves). While he was trying to make sense of the disparate elements of the strangers outfit, the rest of the room recovered somewhat from the sudden intrusion.

"Jiraiya-sama? What are you doing back?"

"After three years of trials and tribulations, I simply could not be apart from your presence a moment longer! And I had to return even faster once I heard of this new guest of yours…" As a matter of punctuation, Jiraiya's eyes turned from Meiko-chan to aforementioned guest as a matter of punctuation. Silence continued to reign in the room as the gathered girl's eyes followed the same path, until all attention was directed onto the man, who was still leaned back, looking slightly taken aback by what was going on around him. He seemed to quickly recover, however, as he leapt to his feet in surprisingly acrobatic fashion, before assuming a pose quite similar to the one Jiraiya had entered with.

"Enemy to evil, friend to the Uesugi, Vagabond of the Maeda! Wandering the world in the name of love, I am Maeda Keiji! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure!" The two men stared the other down- Keiji still locked in his introductory pose while Jiraiya leaned steadily closer to him, never blinking.

"Are you… mocking me?" By this time, the toad sage's killing intent had formed an almost palpable aura around him while Keiji had broken into a cold sweat

"N-no, of course not!" Keji quickly backpedaled, stepping away from the older man while raising his hands protectively. "I thought that's just how we were supposed to greet each other… And besides," He reversed posture again, even more quickly this time, as he moved back in to stare Jiraiya straight in the eyes. "I've always introduced myself like that! If there's anyone copying anyone, it's you!"

"Me?! I've never even heard of you!"

"Well, I haven't heard of you either!"

"Fashion disaster!"

"Fake sage!"

"Hobo!"

"Hack!"

Hitomi pushed through the curtain suddenly, Interrupting the exchange before it could devolve any further. "Jiraiya-sama, Maeda-san, please! You are disturbing the other guests! I am happy to seat you elsewhere, but if this continues, I must insist that you leave, Jiraiya-sama."

The pair of men had the sense to look ashamed at this. "Ah… My bad miss! I guess I just swept up in the moment, ya know?" Keji was the first to respond, with his expression changing to a goofy grin as he looked over to the hostess.

"Sorry Hitomi-chan… I let my passions get the better of me as well! It's just been so long since I've seen all of you, and I just couldn't bear to be separated any longer… But, on that though-" Quickly grabbing the full bottle of sake resting on the table, Jiraiya poured a cup of the sweet rice wine. "I've heard that your guest here is quite the storyteller!"

"Oh, yes! In fact, he's the best we've had since you left, Jiraiya-sama" offered Makie, from her seat with the other geisha that had been watching the exchange.

"Well then, I'd like to offer a challenge! We both tell our best tales, and you lovely ladies decide who exactly is the _best_ at the telling. The winner gets the use of this room, and the bragging rights!" Jiraiya said, holding the cup of sake out to Keiji. "Do we have a deal?"

Keiji looked at the cup for a second before shrugging his shoulders and accepting the offering. "Ah, what the hell?" Raising the cup in a toast, he fell back onto his cushion. "May the best man win!"

* * *

The rest of the night passed in a blur for Naruto and Ieyasu. Pooling their money, the group rented a room in the same in that Naruto had stayed on the search for Tsunade. After that, the three men conversed long into the night, with Tadakatsu standing guard in front of the hotel. Though he had said that he wanted to know what had happened after his death, Sakon dominated the conversation by asking about mundane things like local festivals and music. There was a slight break at around three in the morning, as a heavily drunk Jiraiya barged in with someone that he was calling his "new best friend." Both of them immediately passed out, however, leaving the three to follow suit a short time later.

The next morning, the entire group gathered in front of the hotel. Jiraiya and Keji both stood off to the side in the shade, shielding their eyes from the sun. Naruto was out in front of the rest, pack full of supplies already on his back. "So now Keji is coming back with us too?"

Keji responded with a nod and bright smile. "Yep! Jiraiya here makes a hell of a case, and besides, I was moving on anyway. Just staying in one place just doesn't sit right with me."

Ieyasu stepped forwards, offering his hand to Keiji, who took it in his own. "Whatever the reason, I'm honored to be traveling with you again, Keiji!" The pair shared a firm handshake, and Ieyasu turned back towards Sakon. "And of course, it is also my honor to be beside you as well, Sakon."

Ieyasu extended his hand out for Sakon to shake as well, only for him to disregard it with a shake of his head. "I'm afraid there's been a mistake, Ieyasu. I'm not going anywhere with you."

The group let out a dismayed sound as one, causing Jiraiya and Keiji to wince at the volume. Sakon didn't react, however, still staring straight ahead at Ieyasu. "You know, if we had met again any other way, I would have killed you where you stood."

With a hiss of steam and an angry sounding whirr of machinery, Tadakatsu shifted closer to Sakon, spear at the ready. He disregarded the bodyguard with a flippant wave of his hand, however. "Yeah, yeah. I would have tried, at least. But with you being here, you _both_ being here… There's a chance that Mitsunari-sama is somewhere here as well. Before anything else, I'm going to find him."

Ieyasu stepped forwards towards Sakon, hand still outstretched. "I know that I must have caused you such pain… But please, even if you don't understand what I did, trust in our bond! Besides, these two have graciously offered to help me in my own search for Mitsunari! If you come back with us, I'm certain that we can find him faster!"

Sakon gave a small, sad chuckle before responding. "Sorry Ieyasu, but it's just not that easy. Hell, I might be able to forgive you one day, or at least understand why, but not here. Sure, it'll be hard searching out there, and I might never find him, but Mitsunari-sama bet on me once- how could I not do the same?"

Sakon turned away, facing down the road as Naruto ran up to stand next to Ieyasu, kunai in hand. "C'mon! You can't just let him leave like that!"

Ieyasu just shook his head sadly, turning to put a hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder. "Yes I can. Bonds are powerful things, Naruto. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to let them lead us, no matter how hard it might be for those around us to accept."

Beginning to walk away, Sakon chuckled again, though this time it was a more mirthful sound. "Ah, look at us now, both trying to sound cool…" Pausing to look back at Ieyasu, Sakon raised his voice. "Tell you what! If you can get Mitsunari-sama to forgive you, then I'll welcome you back with open arms!"

"Deal. Until then, Sakon!" Ieyasu called back with a sad smile. Sakon simply gave a quick wave back at the group before continuing down the road, soon lost in the early morning crowd. Ieyasu turned back to the rest of the group, back to the picture of composure despite the mist in his eyes. "Are we ready to head out?"

The rest of the group simply gave a series of nods and quick affirmations, no-one wanting to talk further about the emotional scene that had just played out. As such, the five men were soon leaving the city gates, on the final stretch back to Konoha.


	6. First Gaiden: The Snake

"You know, I find myself quite displeased today. Do you happen to know why?"

Deep below the rolling grasslands of Kusagakure, Orochimaru fixed his current lab assistant with a piercing stare, his yellow eyes narrowed as the man knelt before him, trembling slightly in fear. "No? Well, you see, this morning I received a report from our dear Karin, up in the North. According to her, only three of the subjects out of the fifty that received the new cursed seal have survived."

Orochimaru was pacing at this point, walking slowly around the only major feature of the small room- a large stone table. "Even so, I continued with today's work. But, as you can see, poor Dei'dorīmu was simply too weak to continue on." The lab assistant weakly raised his head to look where Orochimaru had indicated, only to quickly avert his eyes as he forced down the bile that shot up in response to the sight of the mutilated corpse laying on the table. "With him gone, I now have way to find out exactly what made Gen'yūmaru's family so adept with their Swift Release- setting my research back months."

Having now made a full lap around the operating table, Orochimaru redoubled his stare, flooding the room with his killing intent. "And now, you come to me, interrupting my private study, to tell me that there is an intruder in one of my most closely guarded headquarters- and that not only do you not know who he is, or how he entered- you cannot tell me where he is currently?"

"N-no, I mean, yes, my lord!" The assistant almost shouted, unable to keep his terror out of his voice.

"Pathetic. If you cannot even keep the goings on of the lab straight, then I believe it may be time to find you a more fitting position… Report to Kabuto tomorrow for your new duties. Until then, I must go find him myself, as it seems as though I must go clean up this mess myself." The killing intent instantly vanished from the room as the Sannin then turned and walked out of the room. Not a single second more was spent paying attention to the assistant, who collapsed as soon as Orochimaru had fully turned away.

* * *

Finding Kabuto proved to be no particular challenge. Orochimaru found his hurriedly rushing about in one of the central rooms of the hideout, checking on series of flashing lights embedded in heavy steel panels that stretched across the walls. Next to those were banks of large screens, each displaying grainy black and white images of various places around the hideout. "Kabuto. I do hope that you have more information for me than the 'there's someone in the lab' that I've heard so far."

Stopping what he was doing at the sound of the Sannin's voice, Kabuto gave a short bow before speaking. "I do- though unfortunately, I'm afraid there simply isn't a lot of information to have in this situation. Around thirty minutes ago, our security seals showed that someone had appeared in one of the cells in the Western block."

"Hm? What do you mean, appeared?" At his master's question, Kabuto directed his attention to one panel that still had all of its lights turned on.

"Just that, Lord Orochimaru. There was no indication that our intruder entered from outside the structure, or even further within. As far as we can tell, they just appeared in the cell." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, a gleam appearing that Kabuto recognized as the one that he had whenever he began to contemplate a new experiment.

" _Fa_ _scinating._ Please, go on." With a short nod, Kabuto readjusted his glasses and continued.

" _Af_ ter appearing, they proceeded to cut his way through the door of the cell, killing the existing occupant in the process. They haven't stopped moving since then. They doesn't seem to know where they're going, but they certainly is determined- They've cut down anyone in his way so far." Kabuto continues to monitor the panels as he talks. Since Orochimaru entered, seven lights have gone completely dark.

"I see. And what have you been doing about this? Do you at least have any idea of what our guest looks like? Who might have sent them?" Kabuto actually seems to look flustered the question, and breaks eye contact for a moment before recomposing himself.

"There hasn't been much that I can do against them from here. They're simply moving too fast to send men to intercept them, much less do anything more complicated. In fact, they're moving too fast for our cameras And as for information… So far, there hasn't been a single one of our forces that has seen the intruder and lived to report. What I can say though is whoever they are, they specialize in slashing attacks. The cameras haven't picked up any elemental aftereffects, and the sensors also haven't reported any complex ninjutsu." Orochimaru contemplated all of this in silence, staring at a monitor that now showed a Oto shinobi that had been cut in half at the waist.

"I see… Here's what I would have you do, Kabuto. Go and get our dear Uchiha, and have him hunt down this intruder. Say that it's extra training for the day if he sulks." With a sharp nod and a quick bow, Kabuto immediately moved to leave the room. Before he could get beyond the door, Orochimaru called after him again.

"Oh, and make sure that our intruder is captured alive, if at all possible. I do believe that I may be able to make something of the day yet." Lips curling up in a cruel smirk, Kabuto turned to follow his orders.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

* * *

Sasuke walked quickly down the hallway, leaving Kabuto to follow behind. The two hadn't shared any words past Kabuto hurried briefing back in his doorway, but Sasuke had made his displeasure well known through his silence. After all, it wasn't just his typical aloof detachment that he was maintaining at the moment. Rather, he was extruding just enough killing intent to make anyone around him feel his eyes on the back of their neck. He had found it to be quite effective in the past, and it was serving him well again, as Kabuto hadn't even tried to start one of his pointless conversations, or made a insult thin veiled as a comment on his training the entire walk.

Still, it's wasn't the fact that Kabuto was there that was annoying him, or even the interruption to his daily schedule that this nonsense was proving to be. It was the insinuation that Orochimaru assumed that he hadn't already been training on his own. After all, that's all that he did anymore. He had too, otherwise, the memories would become too much to bear. After all, he had been reading more on shape transformation when Kabuto had come to fetch him, and already he found his mind wandering. Idle thoughts about how the deserted corridor reminded him of the empty streets on that night, or how the ever present smell of blood thinly covered by antiseptic had filled his home for months after the slaughter. How his broth-

" _ **Ie**_ _ **yasuuu!**_ "

The downwards trend of Sasuke's thoughts was broken by a howl of rage that tore through the hall. Sasuke took a closer look at his surroundings, but he could see nothing but a few empty staircases that lead deeper underground to either side of him, and a sealed door at the end of a particularly long hallway. "If he's through there, we don't have to worry. That door's designed to lock down with some our finest seals if anyone gets in without permission- from either side. We'll be able to wait it out from there." Kabuto spoke up from his place behind Sasuke. He didn't even need to see the man to know that he had that insipid smirk on his face.

Before he could even reply, the door in question was shattered as a body was propelled through it, the seals activating too late to prevent the door from fully breaking apart. Blood and splinters flew from the breach with such force that they reached nearly halfway down the hall before coating the walls, floor, and ceiling. Backing the debris was an overpowering wave of killing intent that flooded through the broken door. Sasuke caught a sight of a white haired figure standing in the dark room behind the destroyed door, but he couldn't make out anything else before his instincts screamed out for him to duck as quickly as his body would allow. No sooner had he done so did he see the trailing edge of a tachi moving through the space where his throat had been a second before.

Bent backwards, Sasuke took a closer look at the intruder. He was a tall, lean man with bright white hair brought down into a sharp devilock that reached down between his eyes. Sasuke payed special attention to his attire, as aside from a short white white vest with violet trim, he was clad in streamlined black and silver armor. He didn't have a Hidden Village's symbol displayed, that he could see, though he did have an arrangement of kanji that may have been some sort of crest or motto engraved onto his breastplate. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke also saw Kabuto coming up behind the man that had just tried to decapitate him, his palms humming with his chakra scalpels. He didn't get more than two steps, however, before an arc of violet light flashed over his chest- only to be replaced by a spray of crimson as his chest was split open.

"You coward! Your tricks won't work on me, Ieyasu!" As he shouted, the man turned, sword raised as he prepared to finish the wounded scientist off. Drawing his Kusanagi from the sheath tied into his belt, Sasuke counterattacked, striking out at the man's unprotected ribs. However, it caught only air by the fact that his target simply was no longer standing there. Again reacting on instinct, Sasuke performed a last second substitution with the mangled corpse laying in the hall. Reappearing on the top step of one of the downwards leading, Sasuke only had enough time to fully activate his Sharingan before his opponent had finished cutting through his diversion and had turned back towards him. Again the man crossed the distance in less than a second, but with the Sharingan, there was enough forewarning for Sasuke to block the strike instead of merely getting out of the way. " _So fast… Even with my Sharingan, it's like fighting Lee all over again. Still, in these cramped quarters, I should have the advantage over his sword skill._ "

Pivoting out of the way, Sasuke used the momentum of the blow to throw his opponent into the stairwell. The last thing that he expected was for the man to respond by turning to kick off of the low ceiling and launch himself towards him at the same speed of one of his charges. Unable to dodge in the literal second before impact, Sasuke was knocked back off of his feet as the pair was propelled backwards into the opposing staircase.

Tumbling down the stairs, Sasuke barely kept his opponent's tachi off of his neck with the use of his own. Even as they switched positions, the sword never got over an inch away from his throat, and after one particularly hard bump, even drew a line of blood across his Adam's apple as it pressed through the skin. However, one thing began to occupy his mind as they fell - the man's eyes. They were a deep hazel, almost black next to his pupils. His eyes were severely dilated, the contrast of the dark points with the surrounding whiteness giving his gaze a razor sharp intensity. But unlike what Sasuke was used to seeing, it was not the unrestrained rage exhibited by so many of those that he had fought, or even the animalistic bloodlust present in a few of his more savage opponents. Rather, his eyes were clear and focused; all of his fury focused onto one target. Sasuke had never encountered such clear intent in any other gaze. In fact, it reminded him of nothing more than his own.

The fall seemed to last forever, especially as they missed the landing one floor down, and continued all the way to the bottom of the third flight of stairs. As they landed roughly on the final floor, the intruder was on top of Sasuke once again, and having made no headway on slitting his throat, decided to adopt a new tactic. Taking the sheath that he had been holding in his left hand, the white haired man began to savagely beat at Sasuke's face with it.

"Bastard! Kneel your head and perish like a dog of the Tokugawa deserves!" The man continued to reign blows down on the Uchiha with one hand while the other kept his sword locked across his neck. Several of the blows hit home- one causing his nose to crack as it bent out of shape- before Sasuke managed to get the leverage to slam him into the wall with a powerful kick. Smoothly moving backwards into the new hall, Sasuke put some distance between himself and the intruder, as he was already getting back to his feet.

" _Hn. I suppose I was wrong about his abilities in cramped spaces. I need to get to an area where I can control the flow of the fight, or I'll have the disadvantage of being on the defensive."_ Taking a split second to recall the layout of the hideout, and the path that he took to reach this place, Sasuke formed his plan. As the intruder came charging at him again, he simply dodged and _shunshin_ ed backwards, further down the hall, while the blade swept millimeters from his shoulder.

" _I can still only see his movements a second before they happen! I have to time this perfectly…"_ The next several minutes pushed the Sharingan to the limits of their ability, as Sasuke lead the intruder down a path. Weaving around the often reckless strikes, Sasuke still took several grazing hits along his chest and arms where there was either.a follow up that was too close to fully avoid, or the angles of the hall trapped him for a millisecond too long. The pair almost danced through the labyrinthine halls, until Sasuke finally wove backwards into a cavernous room dominated by a massive open mouthed serpent's head, sculpted as if it were about to strike at any second.

" _The training room. Here's where I'll turn this around."_ Deflecting the next strike into the ground, Sasuke moved as far across the room as he could in one shunshin, putting around three fourths of the space between them. Stabbing his sword into the and settling back out into a neutral stance, he spoke to his opponent while beginning to form hand seals. "You've done well so far. Not many could push an Uchi-"

" _ **Shut up**_! I don't care about your name! You are simply an inconvenience on my path to Ieyasu's head! Be gone!" Blurring even to his enhanced sight, the intruder resumed his assault. With just enough time to finish the seals, Sasuke spat a massive fireball into his path with his family's favorite technique. Pausing his charge for a barely a second, the other swordsman slashed vertically upwards with enough force to both cut the approaching sphere in two and to form a vacuum large enough to continue moving unhindered. As he exited the other side of the rapidly dissipating fireball, Sasuke had already prepared his next move.

" **Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"** Sasuke launched a swarm of smaller fireballs at the intruder who seemed to start flickering as he wove back forth through the cloud of projectiles with ease. As he passed the last few, Sasuke pulled his arm back, causing an array of hidden shuriken attached to hidden wires to fly backwards towards his opponent's unprotected back. The man hardly flinched at this, deflecting the majority of the blades away with a simple slash behind his back while continuing to charge unimpeded. Within moments, he was with within Sasuke's guard, sword already streaking out towards his unguarded stomach. At the last possible second, Sasuke's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as he began to channel lightning chakra through it.

"Chidori Nagashi." The ground around the pair erupted with crackling arcs of blue white energy as the intruder's body seized from the electricity coursing through it. The man made a sound halfway between a cry of pain and a guttural howl of rage, but Sasuke paid it no mind as he cut the current. As he was trapped in place, spasming helplessly, Sasuke grabbed his opponent's head, forcing him to make eye contact, and cast both of them into the nightmare world of the Sharingan's genjutsu.

* * *

The genjutsu took the form of the living room from Sasuke's childhood home, though the usually spotless room was torn apart, with liberal amounts of blood staining every surface. Sasuke regarded the sight with a scowl- after all, he had learned that the first rule of genjutsu was that the subconscious state of you and your target could influence the nature of a vision. With that in mind, it was no surprise that whatever he had envisioned would be marred by the intruder's rage. Disregarding that fact for now, he turned to regard his captive.

The white haired man was standing in the center of the torn apart room. A thick steel collar was locked around his throat, connected to the ceiling by no less than seven chains that had been made from metal thicker around than an average arm. Similar chains attached to shackles around his wrists, ankles, and waist, anchored in the floor. Sasuke spent several minutes looking at him impassively before finally addressing him.

"I suppose I should have you answer some questions before handing you over... First of all- who are you?" For once, he had to work to keep his tone flat and uninterested- not hard, of course, as he had more than enough experience with it- as something about the man left him wanting to find out more.

"I am Ishida Mitsunari, Left Arm of the Toyotomi, and the one who will take your wretched master's head, as well as your o-!" As soon as Mitsunari's threats had shifted in target, his restraints lit up with arcs of electricity, the room taking on an almost black and white appearance under the harsh light. In total, the surge of energy lasted only for several seconds, tearing a short noise of pain from the captive. However, even through the pain, Mitsunari showed no sign of his discomfort aside from a slight tensing of his posture. He locked eyes with Sasuke, and refused to break his stare.

"Master… Are you talking about Orochimaru, or this… Tokugawa Ieyasu?" The edge of Mitsunari's lip curled up into a snarl.

"I will kill Ieyasu, and any who have allied themselves with him!" Mitsunari spat back.

Sasuke began to pace, breaking away from Mitsunari's stare as he slowly circled around behind him. " _So, he didn't come here for Orochimaru. Though, the snake might be allied with this Ieyasu. If so…"_

"You keep talking about Ieyasu, but I've never heard of him. Who is he?" Mitsunari's reaction was visible even from behind, as his every muscle tensed up.

"Don't you _dare_ pretend not to know! You work for that traitorous scum, the one who stole my light, my reason to live! You've fallen for his hypocritical speeches about "bonds" and "friendship," you stand in the way of my vengeance, and you have the _**gall**_ to say that you don't even know him! _**Unforgivable!**_ I'll have your he-" Sasuke returned to look Mitsunari in the eyes again just as the chains lit up with electricity again, stopping his threat short. After waiting a second for the energy to die down, the Uchiha held his hand out to the side, his sword materializing in a burst of black fire.

"Hn. That's all I needed to know. It's almost a shame, though. You and I… We're alike. Avengers, steeped in darkness. Ones who know hatred." Drawing back his chokutō, Sasuke prepared to end the interrogation when he was interrupted.

"Alike... You think you know hatred? You think you've experienced anything like what have?! That your misery is anywhere near my own?! _**How DARE you?!"**_ Mitsunari's eyes had begun glowing a hellish red, and his head and shoulders were wreathed in a dark violet fire that turned black around the edges. Not wanting to let the situation progress any further, Sasuke brought his blade down, aiming to cut cleanly through the intruder's chest. Instead, the fire exploded outwards, stopping the Kusanagi like it was a physical shield. Before he could do more than express his disbelief, the fire continued outwards, running along the chains until the entire room was alight. With a howl, a mix between the roar of a firestorm and something far more human, the roof caved in, and the illusion shattered.

* * *

Sasuke snapped back to reality in a haze, staggering backwards as he tried to steady himself. " _How did he… It shouldn't be possible to overpower the Sharingan!"_ There was barely a second to consider the implications of this, however, as the Uchiha realized that Mitsunari had also recovered. He was crouched, tensed and preparing to draw his sword. The red glowing coming from his eyes and the violet fire from the illusion were still present, much to Sasuke's surprise.

" **Fall to rot!"** Sasuke quickly threw himself back, narrowly dodging a pair of slashes that would have cut his throat. Weaving as he moved back, he narrowly danced around several more strikes before using a short shunshin to put some distance between him and his opponent. As soon as he came to a stop, his Sharingan filled with paths of future cuts, surrounding him in a cloud. Seemingly in an instant, the room filled with the sound of metal on metal, as Sasuke furiously parried the strikes even as the ground around him was torn apart by the flurry of metal. He managed to deflect the majority, and all of the ones that would have resulted in mortal wounds, but several slipped arounds his guard, scoring bloody cuts through his white robes. Before the air could stop moving, Mitsunari appeared in the wake of the attack, crouched in Sasuke's guard.

The Uchiha managed to bring his sword up to block the first strike, but wasn't able to pull it away from the rain of blows that followed it. Mitsunari swung down at his head five times, each impact stronger than the last. As the final swipe hit home, Sasuke's sword shattered under the weight. Mitsunari staggered, the momentum carrying him forwards. Seizing the opening, Sasuke shunshined backwards, already snapping through hand seals. As soon as he landed, he thrust his left hand forwards. " **Chidori Eisō!"**

A bright white line of electricity shot forwards, formed into a spear of energy. Before it could hit home, Mitsunari was already racing forwards, leaning towards the right to let the blade cross over his shoulder. Sasuke pressed him by swinging the spear out to take his head, but the motion proved to be too slow as the intruder crossed back under the blade and rapidly closed in. Sasuke started to bring the spear back inwards to cut him off, but Mitsunari struck faster, taking off the first joints of the Uchiha's pinky and ring fingers as he aimed to bisect his opponent across the chest. Sasuke avoided the mortal portion of the blow by stepping back sharply, letting the Chidori dissipate, and began channeling chakra for an shunshin. As Mitsunari began the second stroke of his assault, the Uchiha was already six feet behind him, hand wreathed in electricity.

Not wasting a second, Sasuke struck out with the Chidori, dashing towards Mitsunari's exposed back. As he was just about to strike, the intruder turned, grabbing Sasuke's arm with one hand and slamming his sheathed sword into his stomach with the other. The Uchiha found himself doubled over, electricity arcing as it sparked back and forth between MItsunari's metal armor and Sasuke's arm, forming a short circuit. Both men tensed as the voltage spiked through their bodies, locking them into place. Unlike Sasuke, MItsunari began to move, pushing past the pain by sheer force of will as he pushed the other man down to the ground.

Sasuke found himself pinned to the floor by Mitsunari's boot, the aftershocks of the Chidori still echoing through his muscles. " _Can't get the leverage I need like this… Nothing big enough to substitute with. If I can get eye contact…"_ A small flicker of chakra built up in his Sharingan, until a muscle twitch disrupted the energy. A quick test showed that his chakra control had been thoroughly disrupted like that throughout his body.

" _Dammit! It can't end like this! Not here! Not now!"_ Sasuke defiantly stared up, meeting Mitsunari's gaze- the Uchiha's Sharingan locked with Ishida's glowing red eyes-as he began to tap into curse seal of heaven. He could feel the dark markings burning as they spread across his skin, but even that seemed to be too slow as his opponent already had his blade drawn back, ready to take off his head. The second seemed to stretch into infinity as the two stared each other down. Then, for an instant, Mitsunari seemed to hesitate, arm locked just before he could deliver the killing blow as the unearthly fire and glow left his features.

" **Fuuton: Diatoppa!"**

Sasuke had to snap his head to the side to follow Mitsunari's trajectory as he was blasted off of his feet by a massive burst of wind. He was carried across the room until he impacted heavily against the wall- the crunch of broken bones audible even where Sasuke was laying. After a second, he slid down the wall, where he lay in a crumpled heap. "Oh, don't worry. With that force, from this distance, he's almost definitely unconscious, with a broken arm- maybe a few broken ribs as well."

Looking back, Sasuke saw a smiling Orochimaru walking in flanked by two masked Oto shinobi. "As for you, my dear Uchiha… Well done. Your swordsmanship held up admirably against his, though it is a shame about your blade. Still, it's not like it can't be replaced." Beginning to stand, Sasuke gave a disinterested grunt in response. "Well, for now, go and see Kabuto and get healed up. The end of that was a bit close for comfort… Though, I'm sure that it was all in hand. Right, Sasuke?"

Not even dignifying the question with a response, Sasuke walked off towards Kabuto's lab, barely sparing a glance back at the intruder. Orochimaru similarly turned his attention towards Mitsunari, as he moved towards where he had fallen. His attendants were already hard at work, sealing away his weapon as well as placing several security seals on the man himself. After taking a second to check the unconscious man's pulse, he addressed the other shinobi. "You, take our guest to a holding cell and prepare him for transport. And you… Send a message to the Northern lab. Tell them to prepare my operating theater. I'll be arriving early, and have quite the subject to work with."

* * *

Techique Naame Translations:

Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu- Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu

Chidori Nagashi- Chidori Current

Chidori Eisğ- Chidori Sharp Spear

Fuuton: Diatoppa- Wind Style: Great Breakthrough


	7. Meetings With the Hokage

Five hours before Jiraya his group left Tanzaku town, Tsunade was in the middle of a meeting. Bleary eyed, and more than a little annoyed about the lateness of the hour, the Hokage stared down the two men that sat across from her. "Whatever this is, it better be damn important."

Ibiki simply nodded in response, sliding a folder across her desk. "It is, Hokage-sama. Earlier tonight, we captured a pair of intruders on top of the Hokage monument. Upon interrogation, they not only would not reveal how they breached our security, they also refused to say where they were from. When pressed further, they went on to say that they had, in fact, never even heard of the Land of Fire, or any of the other Elemental countries. That's when I brought in Inoichi."

"I administered the Rekishi Tankyū Jutsu to both men, and found that they were indeed telling the truth. They really have no idea what our village is, or where they are, or even how they got here. What's more, both of their last memories revolve around their own deaths, yet the medical team hasn't found any signs of the Second's jutsu or any other reanimation technique being used on them," Inoichi said, seamlessly filling in as Ibiki left off.

Tsunade picked up the file, beginning to read through it. "So, what you're saying is that they don't know anything?"

"Quite the opposite, in fact. I was able to recover a small amount of military grade intelligence on a region that we've never heard of before, and I only had the chance to scratch the surface," Inoichi continued, before Ibiki cut in again.

"In addition to that, all signs point to them being adept physical combatants. We estimate both of them anywhere between A and S rank in strength- a conclusion backed by Inoichi's reading. So, we either have a pair of perfectly reanimated infiltrators with false memories, or two people from an entirely unknown country that happened to show up in the center of one of the most heavily guarded places in the world. Either way, this could be the start of something very bad." Ibiki finished, and let a heavy silence hang in in the room.

Tsunade finished reading the file before she spoke. "Kotetsu! Izumo!" As her two assistants perked up, she continued. "Go and get the Mikaboshi files."

The pair quickly bowed and hurried out of the room to retrieve the requested documents as the Hokage focused back on Ibiki and Inoichi. "Thank you for bringing this situation to my attention as quickly as you have. But, before we continue, there is something that you need to be aware of. This isn't the first time that we've seen an unknown figure of this capability appear like this."

Kotetsu and Izumo both reentered the room, the latter placing a thin, black folder on the desk in between the Intelligence Division members. Ibiki was the first to take it, starting to leaf through its contents as Tsunade spoke. "There have been a small number of incidents like this through the last few months. As you can see, in each of these cases, the unknown person is observed briefly before disappearing again."

"And if I may ask, why was my department not told about any of this?" Ibiki asked, pausing his reading for a moment. "This should fall under our purview, if I'm not mistaken."

"As of now, we have no way of currently pursuing those leads any further. We only have what we do because of Jiraiya's contacts, and you both know that we can't direct them any more than he can." Tsunade replied calmly, not acknowledging Ibiki's tone.

"Two incidents in Earth, one in Water, and one in... Takigakure!" Inoichi spoke up With a soft whistle of surprise, still thumbing through the file. "All of them in places with Jinchūriki."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she turned her attention to Inoichi. "Exactly. Up until this point, we had simply categorized these individuals as unknown members of Akatsuki, due to their apparent secrecy and location. What's more, each of these incidents lines up with the last time a Jinchūriki was seen."

"So, you think these two might be after Naruto," Inoichi asked, still mulling over the reports.

"That's certainly a possibility. Whatever the case may be, this is an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about them. As such, I'm going to accompany you to another interrogation. Go and prepare the prisoners- I'll be following shortly."

* * *

While Inoichi and Ibiki both left immediately, Tsunade spent several minutes going over files and preparing before walking out of the door. As soon as she did, however, she was almost immediately confronted with an all too familiar face standing in the center of her reception room. "Danzō."

The elder nodded respectfully in response. "Hokage-sama."

"I suppose there's something you want, but I'm in the middle of something. Whatever it is will have to wait until morning." Tsunade brushed off Danzō, beginning to walk straight past him as he cut in.

"It's about the intruders." That was enough to stop the Hokage in her tracks.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised that you know about that," she replied, narrowing her eyes at Danzō. "Well then, go on."

"I came to say that we cannot let two assets like that get away from us. Not after Orochimaru's attack," Danzō said, scowling as he mentioned the Konoha Crush.

Tsunade scoffed, shifting back away from him. "Assets? We have no idea if they're planning on attacking the village themselves, much less if they want to join us!"

Danzō's scowl deepened. "From what I've heard, Inoichi's report states that they have no plans of that sort."

"And you know as well as anyone -if not better- that there could be triggers implanted that they wouldn't remember. I don't care what you've 'heard,' Danzō, we aren't going to conscript anyone until we have full knowledge of their intent," Tsunade cut in.

"I would never suggest that we let a foreign shinobi go unrestricted within our borders. What I came here to discuss was the possibility that we could ensure our guest's compliance." Danzō leaned forwards on his cane as he spoke.

"Are you suggesting that we force them into service? Even if we haven't established their motives, that sort of suggestion is completely out of line!" Tsunade was almost shouting by the end, her words echoing around the empty hall outside of her office.

"Recommissioned soldiers were common not so long ago, if you recall," Danzō continued, unfazed by Tsunade's volume.

"'Recommissioned' ninja were little more than cannon fodder after they were broken, and you know that! Besides, it's not the Third World War anymore! Barbarism like that has no place within this village." Tsunade's angry shouts had backed down in volume by the end, settling into a rage filled whisper.

Still, Danzō's composure remained unchanged as he replied. "Of course it doesn't. That's why I was never going to suggest something that extreme."

"Of course you weren't." Tsunade took a step back, glaring down her nose at Danzō. "So, what were you suggesting?"

At this, Danzō drew a scroll from his robes and offered it to the Hokage. "An old contact passed this to me." As she took it, he continued. "That contains the details for two seals. The first will lock the bearer's body into a state of paralysis until released with a specific counterseal. The second will stop their heart. Both seals can be activated by specific command words, both of which are chosen when the seal is formed. I was not suggesting that we force them to work with us. Rather, that we have a reassurance, should they turn against us.

The pair stood in silence as Tsunade read through the contents of the scroll. Minutes passed before she snapped it shut with a sigh. "I hate to admit it, but you do have a point. I'll take this to the interview, but only with a few conditions. One, they have to agree to join our ranks of their own accord before we even touch this. Second, I will administer the seal personally. Third, I will set the activation phrase, as well as who receives it. Are we clear?"

Danzō simply nodded in recognition. "Absolutely. Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama." Receiving a short nod from Tsunade, the pair parted ways.

As Tsunade walked off towards the main doors, Danzō exited the building through a smaller side entrance. Passing the threshold, he spoke into the darkness. "She's accepted the offer. Ensure that the codes are passed to me immediately." A masked figure materialized out of the shadows for a brief instant, bowing to the former council member before leaping off into the night. Ever impassive, Danzō continued down the road.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ibiki had roused the intruders in question, moving the pair to a new examination room. Unlike the first one, this was a wide, well lit space. Hanbei and Hideyoshi were both seated at a wide table that dominated the center of the room, with Ibiki and Inoichi pacing across the opposite side of the room as they waited for the Hokage to arrive.

The four waited in awkward silence until the heavy steel door swung open, audibly popping as security seals deactivated. All eyes in the room focused on the entrance, just in time to see the heavily bandaged Tonbo holding the door open as Tsunade walked through. "Hokage-sama," barked both Ibiki and Inoichi as they snapped to attention. She immediately moved to take the seat across from the prisoners, leaving Tonbo to return to standing guard outside.

As she sat, Hanbei leaned forwards over the table, chains clinking as he clasped his hands together. "What a pleasant surprise! To see someone of your position so soon after arriving… We're honored. I would introduce myself and my Lord, but I'm afraid that you have me at a disadvantage."

"Senju Tsunade, fifth Hokage of Konoha,"Tsunade introduced herself, leaning back as she did so. "And you are Takenaka Hanbei, if I am correct."

"You are," Hanbei replied, tilting his head forwards slightly in acknowledgment.

Turning to the man on the left, Tsunade continued. "And that would make you Toyotomi Hideyoshi." Receiving only a short nod in response, she carried. "I've come so that we can find out why you're here, and what you plan on doing, as quickly as possible. As you can imagine, it's our highest priority that this situation is figured out."

Again, Hanbei was the one to respond. "Of course. Unfortunately, we've nothing left to give, aside from what we've said earlier tonight. But, I'm sure that your mind reader could have told you that."

The three Konoha shinobi couldn't help but all glance at each other in surprise before suppressing their emotions. "And how did you know about that," Tsunade forcefully asked.

"Both of us try to not linger on the past. So, when our memories came back like that, it was a simple conclusion- though the skill itself is amazing, mind you." Hanbei answered, still remaining as calm as ever.

Tsunade simply stared at the man for a moment, eyes narrowed, before responding. "Impressive. But yes, Inoichi has vouched for your story, and as such, we are willing to hear you out about your plans."

Shifting back in his chair, Hanbei sat up straighter. "Ideally, we would wish to return to our own homes, but from what you've told us, that may prove difficult. As such, we may simply need somewhere to stay as we search for the way back."

Tsunade nodded, eyes closing in thought. "That's right. We have no more idea about the places that you named than you have about our landmarks." Opening her eyes, Tsunade leaned forwards. "With that said, I want to make you an offer. You can stay here in Konoha as you search, with the provision that you offer your services as one of our shinobi. In addition to having a steady place to live, you will also be paid for your time. The intelligence division can work with you from inside the village, and missions can give you in person experience around the continent."

Hanbei seemed genuinely surprised at this development, his eyes shifting over to his partner. Taking a second to compose himself, he answered. "We are honored by the offer, Hokage-sama. But are you sure that you could make use of us? It would hardly stand if we were to turn out to be a burden on you, after all."

It was Tsunade's turn to look smug. "Our technicians assure us that you are very capable at what you do, a testimony backed by Inoichi."

Hanbei remained silent for a minute before responding. "We thank you for the compliment. That being said, would you allow us a few minutes to discuss this in private? This is a major decision, after all."

"Of course," Tsunade replied, nodding. "We'll return in ten minutes."

With a wordless gesture, the three of them exited the room, which was quickly sealed behind them. Now alone, Hanbei turned to his partner. "I'm afraid that we're out of time. How shall we continue, Hideyoshi?"

Hideyoshi turned as well, meeting Hanbei's eyes. "We shall join them."

Eyes closed and head bowed, Hanbei replied. "As you wi-" Before finishing, Hanbei's head jerked back up, confusion plainly written across his face. "What?! But Hideyoshi-sama, your dream-"

"May as well be dead." Hideyoshi interrupted. "The last thing that you remember, what is it?"

"Falling to the Date strategist," Hanbei said, downcast.

"Mine is of Ieyasu's face, as we fought. So, did they not prove their strength? What worth is a general who cannot admit their own loss!?" While Hideyoshi's volume remained steady, the final part of his question was delivered with the same force as a shout. .

"And what of the man that I followed? The one who refused to submit, no matter the obstacle?, Hanbei shot back, venom leaking into his voice.

"Who is to say that we will submit? If we do return to our own world, then I assure you that we shall unify the country. Until then, this is a chance to change our paths, granted by Heaven itself. I wish to explore what Ieyasu has shown me… The strength present in these 'bonds.'" The pair stared each other down, until Hanbei finally broke off and looked down.

With a chuckle, Hanbei began to smile. "Very well. If the Toyotomi shall lend their strength to Konoha, then I have no choice but to do the same."

The pair waited the remainder of the time in silence, until the trio of interrogators filed back into the room. Returning to her seat, Tsunade wasted no time addressing the pair. "Have you made a decision?"

Nodding once, Hanbei answered. "We have. We would be honored to join the ranks of Konoha."

Smiling slightly, Tsunade leaned back. "That's good to hear. I promise that you won't regret that choice. Unfortunately, there is one more matter I need to discuss with you before going further. As you are still relative unknowns that are entering the village, there are security risks to keep in mind. As such, I have prepared a pair of seals that can be enacted to disable you if you attack one of our own. If you do join our forces, or decide to stay in our village for an extended period, I have to ask you to receive them. Understood?"

Hanbei began to answer, leaning forwards to do so, when he was interrupted by Hideyoshi. "Understood." At that, Hanbei simply shook his head slightly before giving an affirmation of his own.

"Excellent. Well then, as I've said, I've prepared the seals so that we can administer them immediately. If you would lay your left hands flat on the table?" Tsunade stood to reach across the table, first laying her hands over Hanbei's. A swirl of purplish black chakra spread across the table as Tsunade focused her energy, centered over Hanbei's palm. The man winced slightly as a burning sensation spread over his skin, but the process was quickly completed.

Tsunade repeated this three more times, once for the Hideyoshi's palm, and twice for the backs of each man's hand. After it was finished, she directed Ibiki to remove the manacles, freeing the pair to look at the new marks. A hexagram was now inscribed on both the front and back of their hands. As they examined these marks, Tsunade passed a small scroll to both Ibiki and Inoichi, who simply nodded.

Clapping to get the former prisoner's attention, Tsunade addressed the pair. "All right! Now that that's done, we can proceed. You'll be provided with a hotel room for the night, what little of it remains, and we'll work on finding more permanent accommodations in the morning. Also in the morning, you'll be given a series of tests to determine our official rankings, mostly so that we know what missions that you would be adept for. After that, you'll come by the Hokage tower for your official registration, and that'll be that. Any questions." Both men gave a single shake of their head in response, and the Hokage continued on. "Good! Now, let's get the hell out of here so that we can get some sleep."

Everyone agreed to that in varying degrees, and they began to file out of the room. Inoichi and Ibiki both turned to head out of the building, the Yamanaka yawning as he turned a corner and out of sight. Tsunade was soon to follow, first passing Hideyoshi and Hanbei off to an ANBU escort who started to lead them to their hotel. As the crowd dissipated, no-one noticed Tonbo walk into an unused office and pull out a small sealing tag.

" _Jīncán. Ts'an. Jiān. Gēngzū."_ Tonbo whispered four words into the tag before rolling it tightly. The tag was then stuffed into a capsule the size of a typical pill before he walked back out of the room. Heading for one of the main exits, he briefly bumped into a passing ANBU, a man with a red nosed, cat like mask. He then exited the building, sans capsule, and began his walk home.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time that Jiraiya and his group of followers crossed through Konoha's front gate. It was less than a second after that that Naruto had dashed up a nearby telephone pole so that he could overlook the village.

Naruto surveyed the town in front of him for a minute, taking it all in. "It's been two and a half years, but the village hasn't changed a bit!" Cupping hi hands to his mouth, he started to yell. "Everyone! Uzumaki N-"

"Naruto! We're in a hurry," Jiraiya interrupted the celebration, yelling up at him from the ground. "Get down here so that we can report in!"

Naruto was about to shout his reply down when the group's attention was suddenly drawn by a soft chuckle coming from the cross street. "The more things change…"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto dropped down to look his former team leader in the eye. "You haven't changed a bit either! Here, I have something for you.."

Naruto began to rummage through his pockets, only to be stopped by Kakashi holding up a hand. "That's great Naruto, but Jiraiya is right. Tsunade wanted me to bring you both in as soon as you arrived."

Naruto stopped searching for a moment, surprise evident on his face. "Oh! That reminds me." "Kakashi-sensei, these are our new friends." Naruto gestured back towards his new traveling companions, pointing at each one in turn. "This is Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Keiji, and Honda Tadakatsu."

As soon as Naruto finished his introduction, Ieyasu stepped forwards with a warm smile, hand outstretched. "Pleased to meet you!"

Kakashi took his hand and gave a short shake, his eye crinkling up in a smile. "Nice to meet you all as well. I'd love to stop and chat, but again, this is kind of an urgent situation.

"Of course. Please, lead the way," Ieyasu replied, gang a quick nod as he spoke.

With that, the group quickly fell in line behind Kakashi and Jiraiya as the quickly made their way through the village. They cut smoothly through the afternoon crowds- a combination of respect for the ninja and awe at Ieyasu's bodyguard clearing a path through the townspeople. The six were mostly silent, save for Naruto, who was busy pointing out landmarks to Ieyasu as they passed by.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the gates of the Hokage Tower. Kakashi showed the rest in, holding the door as they passed. The secretary working the front desk barely glanced at Jiraiya before waving him through, immediately turning back to large stack of papers on her desk.

Leading the way down the long hallway to the Hokage's office, Jiraiya and Naruto both began to notice that the Tower was far busier than normal. Ninja of various ranks and stations pushed past each other as they rushed down the main hall to turn down side corridors, a good number of them carrying thick folders. Naruto waved as he saw a familiar looking ANBU standing guard, before doing a small double take as he noticed the fact that there were nearly twice the normal number of visible guards in the hall.

Before he could really ponder that fact, he reached the large double door that set the Hokage's office apart. Not hesitating, Naruto was the first to push through the entrance, immediately moving to the center of the room "I'm back, Granny Tsunade!"

Only after making his grand entrance did Naruto look around the room. The first thing that he noticed was Kotetsu crouched besides the door, the bandaged ninja shooting glares at Naruto while he picked up a number of scattered papers from the floor. His partner Izumo was also present, frozen in the process of dropping a similar pile of files on the Hokage's desk. The final person in the room was the Hokage herself, who was currently glaring daggers at Naruto as well. The deep black circles under her eyes betrayed a recent lack of sleep, and the empty sake bottle barely hidden in the wastebasket showed a similar lack of patience. "Naruto, what have I told you about barging in like that?!"

Naruto gave a lopsided grin, scratching the back of his head as he replied. "Ah, sorry, sorry! I guess I just got caught up in the moment…"

Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. "I understand, but now isn't the time for those kinds of antics. There is a serious situation going on- Speaking of which," Tsunade looked behind Naruto where the rest of his group was coming in."I believe that these are the three that you messaged me about, Jiraiya."

The other Sannin simply nodded, gesturing back at the newcomers while subtly waving them forwards. "That's right. Let me present our guests-"

Tsunade simply held a hand up for Jiraiya to stop."I think your reports were clear enough on their names. Please, have a seat."

Following the Hokage's request, Ieyasu and Keiji both took the offered seat, while Tadakatsu remained standing off to the side. Once they had done so, Tsunade continued. "We're pleased to have you here, but there are still some precautions that we need to take before we can let you freely walk the village. After all, we just had an incident involving people much like yourself."

"Really? There weren't any damages, were there," Ieyasu exclaimed, leaning forwards in his seat.

"Fortunately, there were not," Tsunade replied with a short shake of her head.

Ieyasu slumped back in his seat, relief plain to see. "That's fortunate, then." He paused for a second, stroking his chin in thought. "These people, did they identify themselves?"

"Yes, but they are currently being vetted through a separate process. I'm sorry, I'm afraid that it calls for a degree of secrecy ." Even though she was apologizing, Tsunade's body language hardened.

Ieyasu simply waved it off. "Completely reasonable. I had just wondered if it would be a name that I would recognize."

"About that…" Tsunade rummaged about through her desk for a minute, stopping to withdraw a black file that she began to flip through rapidly. After a second more, she continued. "If this is right, the three of you also claim to be from a region that we have no record of, and also have no idea where this nation is, or how you got here."

This was met by a series of nods from Keiji and Ieyasu, while Tadakatsu simply made a noise that the ninja assumed to be an affirmative. Ieyasu kept up as the voice of the group, and replied first. "That's right. And in addition, I can say after talking to Keiji and one other, we are not the only ones to have been brought here from our homes- however that happened.

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at this. "One other?"

After a short nod, Ieyasu continued. "Yes. We met with him in the town where we camped yesterday. He was pursuing his own goal, however, so he did not come with us."

"I see. And this goal of his- did it have anything to do with this village," Tsunade asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, no! He's more interested in looking for an old friend of ours that may have come to this world as well." Ya sure was quick to respond, holding his hands up in deference.

"I see." Instead of looking reassured by that, Tsunade instead stared more intensely at Ieyasu as she intertwined her fingers. "Actually, that brings up an important point. We appreciate that you are willing to co-operate with us, and I'm willing to back up what you've been promised. But, we have no reason to trust you. It's not that we have any particular reason to think that you're lying to us, but at the same time, we can't just take what you say at face value. Do you understand?"

Both Ieyasu and Keji nodded in affirmation at that, leaving the Hokage to continue. "So, because of this, we've come up with a compromise. If you choose to ally with our village, we will extended the rank and privileges equal to a shinobi of similar standing to you. As such, you may move about the village freely, access our resources, and make money by taking missions for the village. But, there is a catch."

"After some deliberation with the council, we came to a compromise. You'll get the benefits that I just listed, but you all, and any more of your people that join after you, will be placed into groups based on your relationships. When you go out on missions, at least one of each group must remain securely in the village. At the same time, you will not be allowed out on a mission unless you have at least an equal number of Konoha escorts that are of an equal or higher rank than yourselves. Of course, this is only until we can be absolutely sure that you have no ill will towards us. After that, we can talk more about loosening these restrictions. Do you both understand?" Tsunade looked expectantly at the pair, both of whom had crossed their arms in thought.

Keji was the rest to answer, cautiously hesitating as he began. "What if we were to… reject this offer? After all, I'm not known for settling down in one place," Keji finished with a short laugh, though most in the room to tell that his good humor was somewhat forced.

"If any of you don't care for the terms of the agreement, then you will be welcomed into the city under the same conditions as diplomats from the other villages. You will be provided with room and board in one of several inns that remain on reserve that this purpose, and will be allowed to move about the public districts under minimal surveillance. Unfortunately, under this agreement, you will not be allowed into any official buildings, archives, training areas, or of the clan's private districts unless by specific written invitation or other exemption," the Hokage replied quickly, obviously reciting from official protocol as she finished.

Before Keiji could respond, Jiraiya spoke up from the back of the room, where he had been silently leaning against a bookcase. "Besides, the first agreement wouldn't apply to you, since you would be working directly with me in the field."

Stroking his chin with one hand, Keiji contemplated that for a minute before throwing out his hands dismissively. "Alright, I'm in! I can't pass up a chance to see this world just like that, anyhow!"

"Good. I'm glad to hear that you're so willing to help us." Tsunade directed her attention towards Ieyasu, who was currently sitting with his arms crossed, looking pensive. "And you? Is there anything that you're having trouble with?"

Ieyasu began to slowly shake his head as he spoke. "No, no… In fact, I'm more than a little familiar with a very similar system!" Laughing nervously, he rubbed the back of his head as he finished the last statement. However, his sheepish demeanor dropped off just as suddenly as it appeared, Ieyasu's professional air reappearing. "It's just that, well, I spoke to Naruto about quite a bit on the way here, and he had made it sound like these missions are assigned to the team- not that the team got to select them."

"Yes, we typically hand out missions based on who in the village can best complete them," Tsunade responded, nodding as she did so.

"I see. In that case, what if you assign a mission that we can't complete? I mean, something that goes past what we are willing to do?" Ieyasu's face darkened as he spoke, clearly channeling unpleasant memories.

Tsunade thought for a moment before responding, there tone carefully level. "If you had any reservations when you received the mission, you could refuse it without harm. On the field, however, it's more complicated. Ultimately, it would be up to the current squad leader to decide what happens. Do you think that this will be a regular problem?"

Giving a shake of his head again, Ieyasu quickly responded. "No. I mean, I'm willing to dirty my hands, but it has to be for a good reason. I won't condone killing for the sake of killing."

Tsunade leaned back, a soft smile forming on her face. "In that case, you're lucky that you wound up here instead of one of the other villages. They might not be so forgiving of that, but we have quite a few here that feel the same way.

Ieyasu smiled back, releasing a breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding in for the entire meeting. "That's good to hear! Well then, it seems like I have no reason to refuse the deal." Standing suddenly, Ieyasu extended an open hand over the Hokage's desk, causing the various shinobi present to shift to a ready stance. Undeterred, Ieyasu stood and continued to speak. "I, Ieyasu Tokugawa and my vassal, Honda Tadakatsu will enter into an alliance with the village of Konoha from now on! If I, or one of my men, should forfeit this through betrayal, or willful neglect, then my life shall be forfeit to you."

While her guards were still tense, Tsunade calmly stood as well, taking his hand in hers and shaking it. "We welcome your support, and are glad to have you join our ranks."

The grave look that had come over Ieyasu was quickly replaced by a radiant smile as his handshake was reciprocated. "Wonderful! You know, back where we're from this kind of deal is usually sealed with a dish of sake, but I hope this will suffice."

Tsunade smiled back as her guards shifted back into their usual stance, still looking slightly nervous. "It'll have to. I'd love some sake right now, but Shizune would kill me. Now then, if you would take your seat, we can wrap this up."

Nodding, Ieyasu quickly dropped back into his chair as the Hokage remained standing. "With that settled, let's move on. Naruto, Sakura, please step forward."

Ieyasu turned back to see Naruto and a pink haired girl that he hadn't noticed come in move towards the center of the room. When they were about even with the chaired in front of the Hokage's desk, she continued. "Naruto, I had hoped to catch up with you more thoroughly when you returned, but it looks like that'll have to wait. But, for now, I do have a surprise for you. As of today, Team Seven is being reformed with you, Sakura, and Kakashi." The masked ninja's soft 'yo' was almost completely drowned out by Naruto's loud whoop of excitement. It looked like his celebrations were going to escalate further when Sakura punched him hard in the shoulder, causing him to double over in pain.

Tsunade continued her announcements undaunted. "Ieyasu, for now, you will be rounding out Team 7. Keiji, as you know, Jiraiya has requested that the two of you are to be left alone as partners, so I'll simply let him take it from here. As for Tadakatsu, we're still looking for an assignment that would be best for his skill set, so if you could be patient for now…"

Ieyasu interjected here, raising a hand. "Actually, I hadn't had the chance to mention this, but Tadakatsu has recently suffered major damage in our campaigns, so if he could take care of whatever we need to do to get settled in so that he could begin recovering his strength, it would be greatly appreciated."

Thinking it over for a second, Tsunade nodded."That's definitely doable. Now, there's still the matter of testing to address, but I believe that Kakashi already had something along those lines planned," Tsunade looked at the jonin as she spoke, continuing after she saw a short nod. "And I'm certain that Jiraiya has something stupid planned, so I'm afraid that I'll be leaving you to him, Keiji. As for Tadakatsu, it would be best if we hold of on any test's until he's fully recovered. So, that covers your assignments for now- head out with your groups, and we'll have your headbands prepared by the time that you return. They should hold you over until you can make something that is more to your own liking. Now then, dismissed!"

The assembled shinobi gave a quick salute, while the newcomers simply bowed slightly. With that completely, everyone began to file out of the room, passing several messengers who had been waiting in the halls. As they reached the lobby, the groups separated out through different door, with a pair of ANBU escorting Tadakatsu as he left.

Kakashi led his group out through the village, moving quickly as they approached the outskirts. They soon reached a gated off clearing. Continuing in a short ways, Kakashi brought the group to a halt next to a small river, in front of a trio of training posts. As the entered the area, Naruto was looking around, some of the excitement that he had been radiating ever since the Hokage's mansion fading away. "Wow… It feels like forever since I was here…"

Kakashi gave a short sound of acknowledgement as he came to a stop, Turning back to face his new team. "That's right. Since this is where Team Seven was formed, I thought that it would not be fitting if it would be where it as reformed. Though, I didn't just bring you all out here for nostalgia's sake…"

Naruto cut in, his previous excitement fully restored. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi paused for a moment, a sweat drop forming on his forehead . " _Still as impatient as ever, I see."_

Kakashi quickly recovered, continuing on without acknowledging the interruption. "You see, I'm curious to see how much the two of you have grown- and what our new friend here is capable of." As he spoke, he drew a pair of silver bells from a pouch at his waist. "The rules are the same as the first time we did this. You have until sunrise tomorrow to take these from me. If you don't get them by that time, you'll be tied to these posts until sunset tomorrow.

"Of course, I only prepared for two, so one of you is going to end up with the punishment no matter what. Oh, and one more thing-" Finishing tying the bells to his belt, Kakashi's demeanor changed, becoming entirely serious. "-If you don't come after me with the intent to kill, you'll never get these bells."

Ieyasu looked over to his new teammates as he tried to read the mood, only to see that despite Kakashi's seriousness, Naruto and Sakura were both smiling confidently as they readied themselves. As they both bantered with Kakashi, Ieyasu closed his eyes and took a deep breath before readying himself as well.

After a few minutes of this had passed, Kakashi shifted into a combat stance of his own, pulling his headband up to reveal the Sharingan. "Well then, let's get started."

* * *

Author's Note:

Well... It's certainly been a hot minute. But, I'm not dead, and neither is this! In fact, I'm making it a personal goal to make this less dead than its ever been, starting with this. So, if you've followed this little project at some point, thank you, and I hope that this and what is to come was worth at least some of the wait. And if you've just started reading this, thanks to you too. Either way, there's a lot more to come.


	8. The Lonely Desert

Desert nights were often cold and unforgiving. Amago Haruhisa was used to that. Even after he had inherited his place as the leader of the Amago Family, Haruhisa often spent his night alone, contemplating life, the universe… Everything, really. But on this night, instead of one of his usual hiding places, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar scene.

Haruhisa was standing on the roof of a large globe shaped building, overlooking an expansive city. A gust of wind passed over his face, forcing him to squint, blocking sand from his eyes as he looked up from the sand colored buildings to the massive earthen wall that encircled the city. He continued to observe the pristine night in silence, watching flickers of light in various window, while the noise of what little street traffic there was filtered up to him. " _Life teems through the waste, yet remains in still isolation… Truly, this is the dichotomy of the des-"_

Unfortunately, Haruhisa's musings were cut short as quickly as they began. As he took in the sights of his unfamiliar surroundings, he barely heard a door open behind him, on the other side of the roof. He looked back to see a man turning onto the roof. He caught a half finished report before the new arrival caught sight of him. The guard tensed for a split second before blurring into action.

Haruhisa drew his katana just in time to parry a blow from the man's own short sword. They clashed several times in quick succession, sparks lighting the night as the blades ground across each other. Haruhisa locked eyes and blades with his opponent, looking intently at the only exposed area of his face. Just as soon as he had done so, the man vanished out of the blade lock. He reappeared on the other side of the roof, behind Haruhisa, sword already blurring into motion. The guard swung through the empty air several times in rapid succession, causing bright arcs of wind to form in his blade's wake. The arcs rocketed across the empty space, leaving cleanly cut paths where they touched the ground.

Mere seconds before the wind blades would have cut through him, Haruhisa dug deep, calling on the spirits of his precious desert. The air surrounding him swirled up suddenly and violently, carrying the sand resting on the roof up as it roared into a violent tornado. While the guard's attack dissipated harmlessly against the wall of the vortex, Haruhisa was already making his next move.

Letting the wall of wind fall away, Haruhisa swept his katana forwards along the ground, eddies of dust moving in its wake. As the blade's motion ended, the dust's did not as it continued forwards. Within seconds a trio of dust devils raced across the rooftop, moving to converge on the guard. He was not slow to respond, however. Even as the three tornadoes started to collide, he quickly sprung to the side, the burst of dust created by his shunshin swallowed up by the swirling air. Despite this, Haruhisa was still one step ahead of him. As he exited the shunshin, Haruhisa calmly raised his arm, palm up. At that moment, another tornado formed, its cutting winds centered directly on his opponent.

To both men's surprise, the swirling winds stopped almost as soon as they began. In an instant, the sand carried by the vortex froze. It hung in the air, the pillar of sand silhouetted next to a new figure by the desert moon. "Enough. Pull back, Neppū. I'll handle this on my own."

The masked man quickly bowed, vanishing before Haruhisa could do more than look back from the new arrival. No sooner had the man vanished did the roof spring to life. All of the sand around the pair began to animate, lazily swirling up into the air in long bands, slowly swirling around as they were joined by a dark cloud that was spreading from the man's back. Haruhisa just stood there, observing. The sand began to rapidly gain speed, swirling in more complex patterns as the loud hissing of sand grains pouring over each other filled the air. Haruhisa still stood unmoving, until the noise seemed to reach a crescendo.

"So, you are the one who's intruded upon my world of sand and solitude." Haruhisa finally spoke, projecting his voice over the cacophony of the sandstorm that raged around the pair. His opponent's response was nonverbal. It took the form of several dozen arms that coalesced out of the surrounding sand to crash down on Haruhisa's position.

"Unfortunately, you are not the only one blessed by the desert's soul," echoed Haruhisa's voice, seeming to resonate through the surrounding sand. As the dust cloud formed by the impact settled, Haruhisa stood inside of a dome of sand, sheltered from the assault. As soon as the two men could see each other, the air on Haruhisa's side of the roof began to howl, fierce currents of wind tearing sand away from the storm surrounding the roof. The pair stood in silence for a long moment before they both raised their arms, sending their sand racing forwards.

* * *

A pair of black cloaked figures stood at the mouth of Suna, the steep walls of the gate falling away behind them to reveal the village below. After taking the view in for a few minutes, the taller of the pair spoke up. "There must be nothing like returning home, huh?"

"Don't play around," his partner rasped in reply. "Just head out for the target. We don't have all night."

"Ah, you're no fun! Still, sounds like we're not going to have a problem going in further, un," The taller of the two spoke while beginning to shape a small bit of white clay between his hands.

"That's what I'm talking about. The Leader doesn't want another intruder to obstruct this target." Tuning to face his partner, the shorter man continued. "Go set off your firecrackers and get this over with."

"Hey, don't disrespect my art like that, man!" At the shorter man's huff, he opened his hands, releasing a man sized clay bird, which he quickly leapt on as it took flight. Circling around before he headed deeper into the city, he called down to his partner. "You'll see! True art is an explosion!"

* * *

By this point, the fight on top of the Kazekage's mansion had attracted quite a bit of attention. Teams of shinobi stood on the surrounding rooftops, all trying to follow the battle. Even to their trained eyes, this was an impossible task. The roof was completely obscured by the shifting sands. However, if any of the onlookers had been able to see past the first layer of sand, they would have seen a clashing of wills the likes of which had not been seen since the passing of the Fourth Kazekage.

Sand flew back and forth across the rooftop in waves. Rows of ferocious dust devils sprang up only fall to pieces as they hit a wall of sand. Grasping arms made from sand reached out for Hisahide, only to be torn apart by the swirling winds around them. But in the center of the chaos, Hisahide and the Kazekage stood almost completely still, using only small gestures to direct their offensives.

The pair continued to clash for several minutes, locked in a stalemate. But slowly, surely, Haruhisa began to falter. At first, it was in the little things. A wall would hesitate for a second before starting to reform, or one of Haruhisa's vortexes would be a hair off target. These little hesitations began to add up, until Haruhisa had to split his concentration, consciously holding a shield of sand to stave off the unrelenting attacks.

" _It seems that I may be outmatched…"_ Haruhisa opened a window in his shield, forcing the sand away with a fierce burst of wind. "Impressive. It seems that we truly are kindred spirits, born of the cruel desert. May I ask your name, child of the wind," Haruhisa asked, shouting over the din of the fight.

"I am Gaara of the Sand, Kazekage of Sunagakure." Gaara's reply was quick, echoing around the rooftop as it seemed to be amplified by the raging sands.

Haruhisa nodded, spinning his sword to face straight down towards the ground. "Well met. Perhaps our fates will cross once more, but until then, remember me- Amago Haruhisa."

In response, Gaara wordlessly brought both arms forwards, sending a swarm of massive sandy claws down at Haruhisa, only for him to emerge from the dust cloud seconds later. Still holding his sword vertically, streams of wind swirled around him as he walked through the assault like it was water. Wave after wave of sand simply rolled off Haruhisa as he walked towards the edge of the building. Right as the largest claw yet was about to close around him, he simply stepped off the roof.

Every onlooker tensed, ready to move at a moment's notice when Haruhisa disappeared from sight. He reappeared within moments, however, rising upwards on a powerful dust devil. Gaara directed several more arms of grasping sand at him, only for the whirlwind to glide along the surface of each as they passed harmlessly by. On one pass, however, the sand under the vortex spiked up, disrupting the airflow and knocking Haruhisa out of the sky.

Haruhisa rolled as he fell onto the sand's surface, sticking to the side of the arm even though he now hung upside down over the city skyline. He was back on his feet as fast as he had fallen, now running along the arm even as the sand tried to swirl up around his ankles and bind him. Another arm crossed the one he was running along, blocking off his path, only for Haruhisa to run straight through it without hesitation. A second arm followed it however, as well as a third, and a fourth. Though he still walked through each, they began to corkscrew in the air, causing Haruhisa to emerge in random directions. The concentration of arms steadily increased as Gaara now slowly hovered around the mass on a cloud of sand, the twisting arms looking like nothing more than a mass of twisting snakes hanging in the air.

As a whole, the arms began to rush into the center of the sphere that they were forming, still twisting around themselves. Haruhisa could only be seen in glimpses, running against the waterfall of sand pouring towards the middle. Steadily, he began to gain ground, and made it once more to the outer surface of the trap. As soon as he arrived, however, he was startled by a series of blinding white bursts of heat and sound, as a chain of explosions rocked the sky. The moment's hesitation was all that was needed for a mass of denser, yet more agile sand to wrap around his body and pull him to the depths. The pressure around him increased, and he slipped into darkness.

* * *

Haruhisa regained consciousness sometime later, opening his eyes to find nothing but blackness. " _It seems that I've been captured after all... But, perhaps I may still roam free."_ focusing on the material around him, Haruhisa began to slowly push outwards at the sand. It soon began to fall away, leaving the borders of Haruhisa range.

" _Hm… This is easier than I would have expected… Perhaps I should move with caution."_ Continuing to push the sand away, Haruhisa eventually opened a tiny hole to the outside, just large enough to see out of with one eye.

Though the view was partially blocked by some sort of white object, Haruhisa could clearly see a pair of black cloaked figures standing off to the side. From what he could see, the larger of the two was talking to his companion, vigorously gesturing along with his words. Cautiously as ever, he formed a second hole in the sand, this one positioned over his ear. Subtly redirecting the wind to amplify their words, Haruhisa strained to listen in on their conversation.

"...telling you, Danna, that guy was way overblown! He went down so easily, it was almost a waste of my art, un!" Before the taller figure could continue, his partner cut him off.

"Give it a rest. Just because you caught the Ichibi off guard isn't any reason to get cocky... Besides, it's not like you have any art to waste." The other man spoke in a deep rasping voice that grated against Haruhisa's nerves.

"You're just jealous that you didn't get to do anything, un! Good thing, too. The Ichibi would have broken your toys before you could blink!" As he was breathing in to continue, he was cut off again, this time by a long metal shape rising up in front of him.

"Deidara, shut your mouth. We have company." Like that, the pair was all business.

"I see him. Fifty meters out, coming over that dune. Should I take care of him?" The taller one spoke first, reaching a hand into his cloak.

His partner was already moving by then, leaving a wide trail in the sand as he slowly moved forwards. "No. Let's go meet him. I need to kill something before I kill you."

Deidara laughed in response, moving to follow. "Whatever you say, Master Sasori!"

" _Ichibi? Could they be speaking of that fellow child of the desert? In any case, I can't worry about that now. This might be my chance!"_ Haruhisa renewed his efforts to free himself, pushing a good deal of the sand away from his face and shoulders as he did so. As the holes that he made widened, his escape efforts were interrupted as the ground suddenly jerked away.

Rhythmic flapping filled Haruhisa's ears as his hiding spot/prison continued to rise into the air. Seconds later, he could see the black cloaked pair standing some forty feet below, facing another figure. He could just make out a trio of what looked like wooden puppets surrounding the newcomer. Straining to make out any more details, Haruhisa almost missed Deidara's gesture back towards him.

Haruhisa barely had time to cover up, reforming the surface of the sand (which he now recognized as a slightly bigger version of the gourd his opponent had worn). Keeping the holes that he had been using to peer out of, he saw Deidara turn back and face him directly seconds after the shell had reformed. Before he could fully process his good fortune, the unknown person charged the pair with his tools, only to be laid out by some sort of whip that extended from behind Sasori.

" _Perhaps I should hold off for now… There must be a better opportunity than this."_ Haruhisa thought silently to himself, holding his breath as the pair turned to walk back towards him.


	9. Put To The Test

For all of his hesitation before the test, Ieyasu was the first to move. As soon as Kakashi had given the signal to start, he launched forwards. As he reached Kakashi he brought his fist upwards in a tight hook, aiming for the shinobi's stomach. Kakashi jumped backwards, narrowly dodging the blow, but Ieyasu pressed the attack. Kakashi continued to duck and weave, slowly moving backwards as he dodged Ieyasu's punches. This dance continued until Kakashi ducked away from a particularly powerful right hook aimed for his face. Leaping backwards he landed on the river's surface, while Ieyasu stopped short, waiting on the shore.

Ieyasu looked down at the river for a moment before looking back up to to Kakashi. As he did so, he saw that the jonin was now finishing a series of hand seals. The water frothed around his feet as he called out " **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!",** before a massive jet of water took the form of a dragon, spiraling into the air.

Ieyasu saw his new teammates leaping away on either side of him as he put up his arms to block. The water dragon slammed into him head on, seconds after he had raised his guard fully. His feet dug into the ground as the water pushed him back. The majority of the force dissipated harmlessly on his forearms, splashing out into a cloud of mist as the attack broke on Ieyasu's defenses.

As the cloud fell away, Ieyasu could see Naruto and Sakura on the other side of the shore, engaging with Kakashi. The Jonin was keeping a pair of Narutos at bay, blocking each of their attacks. In a flash he spun around one of the doubles, pinning its arm behind its back before popping the other with a well placed kick to the ribs. Before he could do much more, a third Naruto leapt from behind, diving for the bells. Kakashi just vanished, letting Naruto crash into his own clone.

As he watched the exchange, Ieyasu had been moving to join the rest of the team, leaping over the river with a running jump. However, almost as soon as he landed, the ground shook as a massive shockwave rocked the training ground. A loud " **CHA!"** rang out from the dust cloud that rose rapidly from the center of the attack. Crouched on a large boulder, Ieyasu tried to steady himself as the ground rocked from the attack. As he did so, he watched the fissures running through the field, waiting for an opening. As soon as he saw a bit of movement in the shadows, he moved to meet it.

Kicking up off of his perch, Ieyasu leapt forwards again, one fist clad in golden light pulled back behind his head. At the apex of the leap, Ieyasu stared straight down into one of the cracks and locked eyes with Kakashi. The jonin's face had a moment to show shock before Ieyasu's fist made contact with the ground above him. As it did so, the field exploded once more. Ieyasu's attack was more concentrated than Sakura's, driving deep into the ground. The already shattered rock bent upwards under the pressure before shooting out in a violent spray of debris. Kakashi himself was thrown up in that spray, arms crossed in front of his face to block as much of the flying stone as he could.

Kakashi quickly took the offensive. With a series of quick hand seals, he was joined in the air by a pair of clones. One of these vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, flying backwards out of sight as Naruto rocketed into it. The two figures each found footing on the largest rock within reach and launched themselves back towards the center of the dust cloud. Using the choking dust as cover, one of the clones drew a kunai and moved in behind Sakura. Metering his breathing, Kakashi struck. The harsh scraping of metal on stone filled the air as he suddenly found himself striking a large rock. Before he could react, Kakashi felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist from behind.

"Gotcha!" Sakura exclaimed, leaning back to lift Kakashi off of his feet. Gaining speed, Sakura dropped the jonin back in a perfect suplex, only for him to explode into a burst of lightning as soon as he touched the ground. Muscles locking, Sakura dropped as well, temporarily disabled by the massive surge of energy.

Ieyasu was experiencing similar difficulties in his own fight. The Kakashi that had moved to face him had begun a steady assault with his own kunai, and the combination of the cramped area of the crater and the poor visibility had locked him into a defensive stance. As Kakashi came in with a strong swipe from the right, Ieyasu saw his chance. He blocked the blow with the back of his armored glove only for Kakashi to draw a second kunai with his free hand. Still holding off the first attack, Ieyasu caught the kunai stabbing towards his stomach by the blade. In the second when both of Kakashi's arms were locked up, Ieyasu reared back and slammed his head forwards. A flare of bright light shot through the crater as the headbutt connected- both from the attack itself and from Kakashi dissolving into a flare of lightning. Under the flash's cover, a hand shot up from the ground and wrapped around Ieyasu's ankle. Seconds later, he found himself looking up at Kakashi's form scaling the wall of the crater while he was buried up to his neck under the ground.

* * *

This back and forth continued for hours, Kakashi retreating further and further into the forest. After a particularly draining exchange, the new Team Seven found that he had slipped away completely. Instead of immediately resuming the chase, the trio took a knee.

"Your teacher is certainly exceptional!" Ieyasu said, smiling brightly despite the sweat pouring down his face. "I've never seen someone with that kind of elemental range!"

"Of course he's great! How do you think that I got so good?" Naruto was quick to reply, beaming right back.

"The problem is we can't beat his seals when he makes them that fast… If we could somehow prevent him from using his hands, we might have chance." Sakura said, though it seemed to be directed more at herself than at her team. Shaking her head, she looked up at her teammates. "There has to be some weakness that we can use!"

"You know, I think I have an idea..." Naruto trailed off, a mischievous smile forming. Ieyasu and Sakura shot each other a look, both feeling suddenly nervous about their teammate's plan.

* * *

Several hours before Naruto's return, in the center of the Forest of Death, an altogether different test was going on.

"Alright punks, listen up! You all are here because you think that you're the best of the best that we have to offer. I'm here to see just how wrong you are!" Anko Mitarashi was standing at the front of a spacious underground arena, lit only by flickering torches. Anko herself was perched on top of a massive pair of stone hands, carved as if they were forming a hand seal, facing a small group men and women that were gathered in the center of the room.

"I know that this event is a surprise for most of you, but suck it up! After today, you'll either be Jonin, or laughing stocks! So, with that in mind, let's get right to business! As you may have guessed by now, this is your Jonin examination. I'll be watching you as you complete a series of tests. When we are done, I'll forward your results to the Hokage- if you're still alive, that is- along with a recommendation on whether or not you should pass or fail "Anko's speech was interrupted by a shout from below.

"Why are you the proctor? You're not even a full Jonin yourself!" The interruption came from the center of the group, as a somewhat plain looking man yelled up.

"First of all, because fuck you." Anko punctuated her statement by flicking a used dango stick down at the interruption, where it embedded itself into the stone between his legs. "But, you did bring up a good point. The exam is also being watched remotely by a panel of jonin, who will remain anonymous. They will also send in their own recommendations, so that your chances are dependent on a little more than how much I like you. With that said, the first stage of the exam begins… Now!"

As Anko finished her sentence, an almost imperceptible wave of energy passed over the crowd. Seconds later, the gathered shinobi started and began to back away from visions that only they could see.

As Anko said, a group of jonin were gathered in a nondescript building outside of the forest. A pair of Anbu were seated in front of a bank of monitors, studiously taking notes on clipboards while the other jonin lounged about the rest of the room, occasionally taking a look at a screen while otherwise chatting.

"Looks like Kurenai's really making them work for it this time," Asuma said, gesturing towards the screens with his lit cigarette .

"You can say that again. What was that last one, B rank? A?" An Inuzuka man leaning near the door responded. "Also, put out the damn cigarette! I'm going to be smelling it for a month as it is."

"Alright, alright." Asuma extinguished his cigarette, licking his fingers before pinching the tip. Placing the half burnt stick back into a pouch, Asuma started to say something more when he was cut off by a loud knock.

"Tell whoever it is to come back later! They're already too late for the first stage as it is!" One of the jonin that was intently watching the screens yelled back, only for the Inuzuka to wave her off as he began to open the door.

"You do know you're half an hour late-" Opening the door, the Inuzuka began to chide the new arrival in a mocking tone, only to be almost knocked off of his feet as they rushed past him.

"Piss off, Kegawa. We were held up in a meeting, so we're a bit behind." Tsume Inuzuka barreled into the room, not even sparing a glance at her fellow clan member. She quickly made her way to the wall of monitors, where she pulled a chair over to sit behind the ANBU. Her ninken Kuromaru followed her through in the wake of stunned silence that now filled the room. Shibi Aburame accompanied them, stoic as ever.

"So, what did we miss?" Without missing a beat, one of the ANBU lifted his notes so that Tsume And Shibi could read them over his shoulder. As they got caught up, the room slowly began to return to its previous atmosphere. Kegawa awkwardly closed the door, only to have a hand catch it at the last second.

Pulling it back open, he found Shikaku standing there, along with the rest of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Shikaku greeted Kegawa with a casual wave, already walking in. "Yo. Hope we aren't disrupting anything."

Dismissing the claim with a shake of his head, Kegawa replied as he stepped out of the trio's way. "Not really. Besides, Tsume beat you to the punch with that."

"Oh, Tsume's here already? I thought she had been delayed longer," Chōza interjected.

Kegawa just shook his head, gesturing over his shoulder at the group clustered around the ANBU. "No, she's here alright." That seemed to be enough for the Trio, as after a few more pleasantries, they all moved to join the other two clan heads. Kegawa took the chance to lean back against the wall, letting out a deep breath, only to jerk back to attention as yet another knock echoed through the room.

"Oh for-" Taking a step to the side, Kegawa threw open the door. "If you're anyone except for the Hokage herself, you can go f-"

"I can go what?" Hiashi Hyūga cut him off, standing calmly outside the door.

Shakily clearing his throat, Kegawa continued. "You can go right in, Hiashi-sama."

With a brief nod, Hiashi did just that, ignoring the rest of the room until he reached the other latecomers on the far wall. As he passed by, Genma raised an eyebrow and leaned over to Asuma on his right. "Okay, what's going on with this? First they announce the test at the last minute, and now the clan heads are all here?"

Asuma just shrugged. "Don't look at me. They didn't tell me any more than you, it looks like."

"They didn't tell me anything either, but I'll bet you anything that this has something to do with those two." Yūgao interrupted, directing Genma and Asuma's attention to one of the screens. That particular monitor displayed a pair of men standing off to the side of the arena, away from the rest of the jonin candidates. "Do you recognize them?"

Asuma leaned in, squinting slightly as he studied the screen. "Now that you mention it, no. I can't say that I do. What about you?"

Doing the same, Genma shook his head. "They don't look familiar. And I would recognize them if I'd seen them in the tower before. Who are they?" he asked, turning back towards Yūgao.

"I don't know either. I was just pointing out something that you really should have noticed already-need I remind you that we are still proctoring this?" Yūgao asked, narrowing her eyes at the men.

Asuma just held up his hands. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm not responsible for the genjutsu portion!"

Genma, however, was distracted, rubbing his chin in thought. "Same here… But still, we should be watching those two. There seems to be something big going on here"

* * *

Back in the arena, Hideyoshi and Hanbei both stood in the same spot that they had been standing in since the test had begun, both staring at the latest vision that had sprung into existence around them. "You know, this all is really quite impressive." Hanbei said, words slurring slightly around the razor wire that was wound through the side of his mouth, as well as the rest of his body.

"Illusions are the work of cowards with no true strength." Hideyoshi didn't look at his partner as he replied, a combination of similar wire locking him in place and his current staring contest with the massive, deformed monster that stood across the room.

"Even still, this is leagues past what Rikyuu could do." A violet flare of energy surrounded him for a second, dissipating the genjutsu and returning the arena to its usual drab appearance. Hideyoshi did the same next to him, reality reasserting itself as his crimson energy faded away. As it did so, the "monster" that Hideyoshi had been so intently staring at turned back into a smirking Anko, who was currently walking towards the pair.

Coming to a stop directly in front of them, Anko addressed the pair in a voice that could be heard across the arena. "So, the two of you think that you're hot stuff, eh?"

Hideyoshi remained silent, never breaking his imperious stare as he stood there with arms crossed, while Hanbei chuckled softly before replying. "Well, I would say that we do have some experience with this type of thing."

"Well, let's see how far that experience will take you!" Anko's predatory smirk only grew in response as she turned back towards the rest of the examinees. "Alright, no time for rest! The next trial will start right now! Please follow your guide to the next room!"

As she had said, a number of ANBU appeared in various places around the room, standing next to each examinee. As they began to direct the crowd, the examinees dispersed out of the arena, each lead to their own door. Hideyoshi and Hanbei were no exception to this, as they were lead to doors on opposing sides of the tower. Without hesitation, the pair each entered their respective door, stepping into the next test.

* * *

"Hey, what's the deal with this?" Back in the observation room, a swarthy jonin interrupted his friend's concentration with a hard tap on the arm.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you got a field promotion, didn't you?" Turning to the cluster at the front of the room, he shouted across the chatter. "Hey Shikaku! Mind explaining this test to Ten'un here?"

"He's too busy to-" Shikaku waved off Tsume's quick retort even as he started to walk back towards Ten'un.

"Don't worry about it. They don't actually need me for a few minutes now. So, what did you want to know?" Shikaku asked, hands casually in his pockets.

"Well, I never had to do all this, so I just wanted to know what they're doing in there," Ten'un said with some hesitation. Shikaku just nodded in response, dropping down into a nearby chair.

"Got it. Well, you see those five scrolls there?" Shikaku pointed at a monitor that showed one of the examinees sitting alone at a small table in the new room, pouring over a series of scrolls. When Ten'un nodded in affirmation, Shikaku continued.

"Well, four of those contain the full records of Team Maru- a team that we made up several years back. The fifth contains the details of the mission that the team is returning from. We give them ten minutes to memorize all of the details of those, and then they are called into the next room. There, they are given the situation." Shikaku leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling for a minute before continuing on.

"They have been made leader of Team Maru for the mission that was just presented to them- an info gathering mission that took them deep within Kumogakure. While exfiltrating, they run afoul of a large patrol of Kumogakure shinobi. One of the team is gravely injured, the others are exhausted, and the patrol is right behind them. How would they complete this mission?" Shikaku finished, staring Ten'un straight in the eye.

Ten'un just stared back at Shikaku, before finally managing to reply. "So, what, the point is just for them to imagine losing their squad?! There's no way out of that!"

Shikaku nodded gravely. "You've almost got the point. If they focus on saving their comrade, they risk losing the intelligence. If they focus on speeding the intelligence back here, they lose part of their squad. If they stay and fight- well, that's the worst of both options. Whatever way you take, you lose something." A shout from Inochi catching his attention, Shikaku turned back towards the front of the room. "Looks like we're getting to the important part. Sorry, but I've got to get back." With that, the jonin commander left Ten'un to contemplate the test.

* * *

In the tower, Hanbei had just been escorted into the second room and presented with the test situation. The ANBU that had escorted him in gestured to the large map in the center of the room, troop placements standing out from the terrain in neon colors. "You have fifteen minutes to give your answer. Begin."

Hanbei simply nodded, slowly beginning to circle the map. He stayed silent for several minutes, only giving a small 'hm' of contemplation here and there. After five minutes, he looked up across the table, grabbing the ANBU's attention. "I'm ready."

"Are you sure? You have more time if you need it," The ANBU stated, gesturing to the timer on the wall behind him.

Hanbei just shook his head and chuckled. "No, no, I'm sure." The ANBU nodded, indicating that he should continue.

Taking a pointer that had been left on the side of the table, Hanbei began to circle places, tracing out routes on the map. "I would have the team move north, along these lines."

The ANBU interrupted, holding up a hand. "North? You are aware that Konoha is south from this position, correct?"

Hanbei nodded, continuing without missing a beat. "Yes, I am. The reason to head north is here-" The pointer came down on a small black mark on the map. "Kobayashi village. Konoha is fifty miles away from this point, while Kobayashi is only thirty. That means that even at a faster pace, the injured team member will be able to keep up until the end goal."

The ANBU looked over the map again, eventually pointing to the icon representing the Kumogakure pursuit force. "Even if you do reach the village without incident, the Kumo shinobi will be able to track you there easily. How do you answer for that?"

Again pointing to his proposed escape route, Hanbei answered. "If the squad is split into three teams, there will be enough variation in the paths taken that it will lead to a delay in tracking. It's true that the delay won't be enough to escape them, but we will rendezvous at the village with a healthy margin of time before they arrive. In addition, one group will consist of only Sevik. He will be able to reach the village long before any other member of the team, and can prepare a place."

The ANBU sat silently, hand on his chin in a thoughtful posture. After a minute of silence, he spoke again. "Even if you reach the village before your pursuers, they won't retreat because you've holed up in a village. How can you justify putting the entire village at risk?"

Hanbei just chuckled, shaking his head head slightly. "I can justify it by the fact that the village itself would be at almost no risk. They could certainly press the attack, but to fully destroy the village, or to even intrude with such a large force would be an act of aggression against the entire Land of Fire. Would they really risk going to war over one team?"

"But what if they did?" The ANBU shot back.

"Then the team would still be in a much stronger position. Ite would be able to take shelter in a more fortified location, while the rest of the team could engage the Kumo shinobi on our own terms. After all, fights in urban places favor the defenders," Hanbei replied smoothly.

The ANBU nodded, pausing to take short notes. "And if the worst was to come to pass?"

"If it came to it, we would rely on a coded message that would be hidden along with Ite. That would, in turn, point to here-" Hanbei paused, pointing to a spot along the initial path that he had laid out. "Sevik will hide the intel here during the initial sprint to the village. Our pursuers will likely not think to look for it along his path, as the scout is the least likely to carry the information to start, much less hide it before the destination. From there, it can be recovered, even if the rest of the team is lost."

The ANBU simply nodded in response. "Very well. Please wait here until one of us arrive to take you to the next stage of the test. If you leave the room before then, you will be automatically disqualified." With that, he turned and left the room, leaving Hanbei to wait.

* * *

At the same time as Hanbei's test, Hideyoshi was facing the same question on his own. Having been shown into a room with the same map and scenario, Hideyoshi stood like a statue, looking over the map with his arms crossed. " _Child's play. If the wounded one were to go on his own, his trail would draw attention away from the rest. They could then move around the area, and head straight to the goal."_

Satisfied with the plan, he shifted, about to signal the proctor when something struck him. But, as he was about to raise his voice, a feeling of unease came over him. " _What is it... Am I forgetting something? Perhaps this is more complicated than it appears."_

He began to pour over the map again, taking in everything. " _The terrain is favorable, they could cover the distance, even with the diversion… What am I missing here?"_

As that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly remembered a scene from his past- Ieyasu down with his soldiers, holding a man's hand as his injuries were bandaged up. Another time, when he had lead in a band of rebels that he had convinced to surrender, followed in his mind, the events playing out like they were yesterday.

" _...That's it. That was part of his strength, after all."_ Inhaling deeply, Hideyoshi spoke. "My answer is ready."

Nodding, the ANBU motioned for him to continue. "I would have them split up into two groups. One will escort the wounded back to the village, while the other would run ahead with the Intel. I will stay back and delay the enemy," Hideyoshi said, never once breaking his posture as he laid out his plan.

The ANBU stayed silent, writing notes on his clipboard. After almost a minute of writing, he risked his head, looking back at Hideyoshi. "You would challenge the patrol force? You are aware that the reports indicated that it consists of at least fifty shinobi, correct?"

Hideyoshi nodded once in responsible. "The engagement would last long enough for the teams to gain the ground that they need to escape. If I defeat the pursuers, then the immediate danger is ended. If I fall, then they will still live."

The ANBU nodded, taking several more notes. "Understood. If that is all, I must ask that you remain here until someone appears to take you to the next stage of the test. If you leave the room before then, you will be disqualified, so please refrain from doing so." Receiving a nod of acknowledgment, the ANBU left, leaving Hideyoshi alone.

* * *

Back in the monitoring room, Shikaku was intently watching the tests as the took place. As the last of them came to a close, he pushed back away from the wall of monitors. As he did so, Inoichi came over to him, taking an open seat. "So, what do you think about this batch?"

Shikaku closed his eyes and shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "There's some really interesting results this time around. Really, it's troublesome."

"I'm not sure that interesting is the word that I'd use for this. Seriously though, what do you make of those two in there?" Inochi asked.

"The big one's response shows a savior complex of some sort, which is surprising." Shikaku began.

"You don't think he can back that plan up?" Inoichi cut in, interrupting his teammate.

"It's not about whether or not he can. Even if he could, he would still need to be able to do it quickly or cleanly enough that no one could slip around and go for the team. To actually do it… He would need to be at least Kage level to have a chance." Shikaku replied.

Inoichi stroked his chin in thought for a moment before responding. "Well, we don't know how good he is yet. We won't until the combat trials." Shikaku gave a noncommittal grunt in response, prompting him to continue. "Now, what was your take on the other one? I've never heard an answer like that before."

"Indeed. It reminded me of an Aburame, actually." A deep voice spoke up from behind Inoichi, causing the man to start in surprise.

"Gah!" Inoichi sat up, barely avoiding toppling over with his chair. "I swear, you have to stop sneaking up on people like that!"

"I did not sneak." Shibi responded calmly.

"Whatever." Inoichi waved him off before moving into a more stable position. "What was that you were saying?"

"I said that he reminded me of an Aburame. You know, we must always be aware of our swarms. If our balance is disturbed, they will die, and we will follow. As such, we avoid rash actions, even when no other option seems to be available." Shibi responded.

"I think I get what you're saying. Basically-" Inoichi was cut off by another voice as someone began to speak over him.

"He's saying that this Hanbei has the mind of a politician, or a clan elder, rather than just a field agent." Hiashi cut in, joining the growing discussion group. "It's rare to find someone who can look at the full ramifications of a situation and see the big picture, rather than being caught up in the event."

Shibi nodded in agreement while Inoichi spoke up. "Well, this was just a controlled test. It's one thing to do that in a room, and another to do it on the field."

"True, but instinct is instinct, Yamanaka-san. And even if he is only able to think like that here in the village, he still far outstrips some that are already Jonin." Hiashi said.

"I suppose. And if he is able to think and fight, that can be a real asset…" Looking back over to Shikaku, Inochi gave him a sharp nudge with his elbow. "What's your take on this?"

Shikaku gave a sigh, not even opening his eyes as he spoke. "He might be an asset, but remember- for every Professor, there's a Danzo. Think about it, if he really is this good, then we potentially have another Fugaku or Orochimaru in our midst- but with less reason to stay loyal. We've got to be careful, or this could turn into a real pain."

Hiashi solemnly nodded. "Sound advice as always, Nara-san. With that being the case, I believe that we should make sure to give them plenty of reasons to remain loyal. In any case, The next tests are to begin soon. I do not wish to lose my place at the monitors, so I shall take my leave."

Hiashi gave a stiff bow and made his exit, the rest of the group giving farewell waves of varying enthusiasm. There was silence for a moment, broken as Chōza walked up and gave Inoichi a hearty slap on the back. "Well then, are you ready for the fun part? I hear that Genma's taking bets again, if you're interested!" Like that, the solemn atmosphere dissipated, replaced again by the friendly excitement that pervaded the rest of the room.

* * *

The examinees had all been escorted back to the central arena by this point. As the last few stragglers were lead in, Anko addressed the crowd once more.

"Alright! Now's the time that I'm sure that you've all been waiting for- the combat test! Now, we'd usually divide you up at this point and let you have at it, but we just don't have the time for that today. Instead, each of you will be paired with one of those fellows up there-" At that, the upper walkways of the room filled with smoke that quickly cleared to reveal ANBU lining the metal paths.

"-and will have one match to show your stuff. Now then, for the rules of these matches! They are simple: there will be no holding back, on either side. That being said, if I say stop, you stop. The match will last until one of you can no longer fight, or you forfeit. Other than that, you are free to use any technique or trick that you may have- just make it impressive! Are there any questions?" Anko paused, a tense silence hanging over the room. A full minute passed like that, no one from the stadium floor raising their voice.

"Well then, let's begin! You pairings will be appearing on the screen behind me-" Anko pointed up at a pair of screens set into the wall behind her, "-so when you see your name, please come down to this floor. Until then, you will be waiting up on those walkways."

Not needing any further prompting, the assembled shinobi filed up into the stands while the names began to rapidly flash across the screens. Hanbei and Hideyoshi took up positions at the far side of the hall, the rest of the Jonin candidates giving them a wide berth.

The crowd was mostly silent as they watched the matches, a mixture of nerves and professionalism keeping the shinobi quiet. The matches passed quickly as Hanbei and Hideyoshi watched, and soon, one of their names was displayed on the screen.

"Alright! Takenaka Hanbei and Eagle, you're up!" Anko announced loudly. With a short nod to his partner, Hanbei took the floor, facing his opponent. The pair greeted each other with a short bow, before drawing their respective weapons.

"At my signal… Begin!" As soon Anko had finished speaking, Eagle quickly sank into the ground, vanishing without a trace. Hanbei remained where he was, shifting into a ready stance. Seconds later, four copies of Eagle rose from the ground around him in a square, boxing him in.

A pair of the Eagles rushed towards the center, drawing their swords while in motion. Hanbei responded by pivoting away from the strikes while sweeping his sword arm outwards. The blade extended as it moved in an arc, the whip like blade cutting cleanly through both attackers. There was a soft clicking sound as the sword snapped back to its original shape, water dripping off the sharp segments to join the puddles that had formed from the clones. As soon as it had finished retracting, Hanbei pointed the blade at the ground and extended it to its full length.

Eagle's arm suddenly phased out of the ground, sword striking forwards at Hanbei, only for the extended sword to score a long cut along the limb as it shot past into the floor.. Nonetheless, Eagle continued with his surprise attack. The tip of Hanbei's sword embedded itself in the ground, allowing him to pull up and make the entire length of the blade taut. This tension was enough to stop Eagle's sword dead just before it could stab into Hanbei's side.

Hanbei pressed the advantage, stepping to the side as he retracted his sword. The sudden disappearance of the pressure caused the ANBU to stumble forwards a step. He immediately brought his own sword up to block Hanbei's as it stabbed for his chest. Hanbei revealed this as a feint at the last second, pulling back and stabbing into Eagle's unguarded stomach in a single quick motion. As the clone dissipated in a shower of water, Hanbei triggered the sword's extension again. The blade shot out, stabbing straight through the chest of the final clone.

Behind Hanbei, Eagle used the space his last second substitution bought him by beginning a string of handseals. " **Suiton: Ryūsu** **-"** Before he could finish the name of the technique, he had to abandon it. Instead of retracting his sword, Hanbei had swung the entire extended whip out towards Eagle's position. The ANBU was barely able to raise his sword to block before the arcing blade reached him, only to have the last lengths of the whip wrap around his weapon.

With a flick of his arm, Hanbei send a wave down the length of his sword. In response, the tension on Eagle's sword lessened as lengths of the whip began to rise up off of the blade. This was joined by more and more of the extended sword, and within seconds, Eagle was surrounded by a loose dome of rapidly rotating blades. In response, Eagle dropped his sword, instead forming a half bird seal with that hand. As the dome began to collapse in around him, he dashed forwards, selectively phasing through the whip. As soon as he was clear, he grabbed his right hand by the wrist, presenting his palm to his opponent. " **Suiton! Hōsuihō!"**

A thick stream of water shot out from Eagle's extended hand, barreling towards Hanbei. He responded by going low, dashing to the side at a surprising speed. Eagle turned as well, moving his hand to keep the water directed towards him, but found himself constantly slightly behind Hanbei's position. He continued to try and adjust, however, not realizing the trap he was in until it was too late. Hanbei soon reached Eagle's starting position, where several feet of his whip laid in a heap on the ground. Grabbing the wire just behind the first segment, he triggered the sword's retraction. Foot after foot of the whip vanished back into the hilt as the sword constricted in a massive loop. Eagle now realized what was happening, dropping his focus on his jutsu as he tried to free one of his hands. However, there simply wasn't enough time to do so before the whip reached him.

The remaining length of the blade wrapped around Eagle, the sharp segments biting into him as it did so. The wire kept tightening, cutting deeper into the ANBU until Hanbei stopped the blade's retraction. As he did so, Anko called out from above the pair. "Alright, that's enough!"

Hanbei nodded before letting go of the end of his whip and flicking his sword arm out to the side again. The whip reversed direction for a second, pulling out of the bloody grooves that it rested in. When the entire length was free from Eagle, it snapped back into its original form faster than it had for rest of the match, a light red mist hanging in its wake. The two men exchanged a brief nod of acknowledgment before returning to the stands. Eagle dragged slightly, but walked straight despite his wounds.

Hanbei made his way back to his place besides Hideyoshi. The pair didn't look at each other, but there was an air of pride around the two that was clear to see. The matches continued on, late into the afternoon. Finally, after hours of waiting and watching, the other half of the pair was called. "Hideyoshi and Cricket, get down here!" Anko's voice rang out again, still strong despite the hour.

Hideyoshi solemnly made his way down to the arena floor, Hanbei giving an unspoken encouragement as his partner passed by. On the other side of the room, one of the ANBU stepped forwards, vaulting over the guardrail and dropping down to the arena. Hideyoshi gave no acknowledgment, and made him wait as he continued his steady pace. Studying him as he approached, Hideyoshi recognized his opponent as the leader of the patrol that had taken him in when they first appeared.

When the two finally stood face to face, Cricket was shifting his weight from leg to leg, anxiously fidgeting. Leaning forwards slightly, the ANBU spoke, keeping his voice low. "Remember me? Now we really get to see if you're worth all of this trouble!" Anko called for the match to begin, and Cricket took the initiative.

" **Hiden:** **Mahi Sakebi** **!"** Cricket pulled his arms together, scraping his forearms against each other. As his armor scraped together, a cacophonous sound rang out throughout the arena. Everyone present winced slightly, but it had the greatest effect on Hideyoshi. Lip twisting up in a small snarl, he felt his muscles lock up.

Cricket vanished with a small swirl of dust. He reappeared behind Hideyoshi, driving his knee up into the small of his back. As soon as the blow landed, he vanished again. This time, he appeared with a hard kick into Hideyoshi's solar plexus. This pattern continued, with the ANBU flitting around Hideyoshi's massive form, only stopping to rain down powerful kicks.

After a solid minute of this assault, Hideyoshi had yet to move, or even react to the strikes. Cricket stopped in front of him, looking up into his face. "Is this all you have?" The ANBU punctuated his question with leaping drop kick that struck his opponent directly in the bridge of his nose. Cricket was gone before he hit the ground, resuming the onslaught at twice the speed as before.

Even to the trained eyes of the audience, Cricket now appeared as nothing more than a blur of movement. The only thing that most of the onlookers could regularly see were his blows, which landed hard enough to shake the ground around the pair. Even still, Hideyoshi had yet to move.

Again, Cricket carried on for several minutes at that pace before pausing. He again stopped directly in front of Hideyoshi, standing closer than before. "Come on, this is pathetic! If you didn't want to fight, then you should have dropped out when you had the chance!"

Reaching to his back, Cricket unsheathed his sword, pointing it at his opponent. "Either way, you have three seconds before I end this. If you want to turn tail, you better do it now. 3… 2…1."

Finishing the countdown, Cricket rushed forwards, swinging his blade at Hideyoshi's unprotected face. At the last second, Hideyoshi casually brought his hand up to slap the sword away. A loud crack echoed through the area as it hit Hideyoshi's gauntlet and shattered. The force behind the deflection sent Cricket tumbling end over end before he caught himself, sliding to a stop. When he looked back up, Hideyoshi was in a ready stance- one first drawn back while his other hand was stretched forward, palm out. What was more concerning to Cricket was the tremendous energy coming off the man. Even if he hadn't been able to sense it, Cricket could see it pouring off of him in a bright crimson aura. As he moved to throw himself out of the way, Hideyoshi moved as well.

Bringing his entire body forward with the blow, Hideyoshi pivoted forwards with a massive punch. While Cricket was far from his actual fist, the air in front of Hideyoshi rushed forwards, condensing into a wall of force. The shockwave traveled across the arena floor in seconds, gouging a path through the tiles. Cricket rolled to the side as the wave hit the tower's wall.

The impact rocked the tower as the wall exploded outwards, sending debris rocketing out into the surrounding forest. The sound of creaking metal filled the arena as one of the crosswalks came loose, forcing the onlookers to dash to safety as the walkway careened down to the floor below. As the dust settled, everyone's eyes were on Hideyoshi, still standing in the same place. After a moment's pause, he spoke, projecting his voice to be heard over the last bits of noise from the collapsing wall. "I forfeit the match."

"A-Alright then! Cricket is the winner! Please return to the stands!" Anko announced from above, only a slight amount of surprise showing in her voice. The two followed her directions and began to walk up the stairs. Hideyoshi was calm as ever, while Cricket was still visibly shaken. As they moved back up, Anko continued.. "And with that, we have finished the combat trial! You're not done yet, however. Follow the ANBU assigned to each of you for to the next round of testing, and good luck! Don't screw it up now!"

* * *

The observation room was silent, everyone present staring at the screens. "Shit, man… I guess I won my bet!" Genma broke the silence.

"Like hell! He forfeited! That pot's mine!" Raido shot back, others joining in as the betting group began to squabble among itself. As that happened, the clan heads stayed clustered at the front, discussing the events.

"You know, I predicted this. I said that they were at least S-rank combatants." Inoichi said, pausing as Chōza put his hand on his shoulder.

"We know, we know. Nobody was saying that you were wrong-",Chōza placated his partner.

"I distinctly remember some people saying that I was wrong." Inoichi shot back, pushing the Akimichi's hand away.

Hiashi rolled his eyes before turning towards the rest of the group. "They did show more skill than I expected, especially the first one. Wherever they are from, they certainly have excellent training. What is your take, Nara-san?"

"I wouldn't call it training. The way he fought wasn't like your style, Hyūga-san. It reminded me more of how a Nara fights." Shikaku responded.

"How so?" Hiashi's eyebrow arched up awards as he asked.

"I mean that I didn't see an underlying form to his moves- rather it was just the best action to take for each situation." Shikaku answered, before looking over at Shibi.

Picking up on the cue, Shibi continued. "I agree. He was able to close the gap between him and his opponent's jutsu by outmaneuvering him. It showed a masterful grasp of strategy."

"Actually, what was up with that? Is he even able to use jutsu?" Tsume cut in, pushing into the circle.

"What does it matter if he can't? He's able to handle himself just fine either way." Chōza replied.

"Whatever. We'll know by the end of this, anyway. The real problem that I have is with that partner of his." Tsume said, waving off Chōza dismissively.

"You think that blowing out the tower wall isn't impressive enough? Also, I had meant to ask, isn't that structure reinforced with seals?" Hiashi asked.

"Not when he surrendered right after! We don't need that kind of cowardice in our ranks!" Tsume snapped back.

"First- yes, Hiashi, it was. Second of all, it wasn't cowardice. He was obviously making a statement." Inoichi said, spinning his seat to face the Inuzuka head.

She snorted before answering. "What was it, 'I'm too scared to follow through on a threat?'"

"No. He was saying that he couldn't limit himself enough to not kill Cricket." Shikaku cut in.

"Exactly. He shows that he can take whatever comes his way, as well as putting up a fight on his own. On top of that, by finishing like he did, he shows what he can do without actually injuring our ANBU." Inoichi continued.

Hiashi nodded. "Well said. Still, I think that I've heard enough. I'll be on my way to make my report now. Thank you all for the input."

Yawning, Shikaku stood from his chair. "Yeah, I'm heading out as well. Is anyone else coming?"

Nods of assent went around the small group before Tsume spoke up. "No, I need these losers to pay up before I go. I'll head over to the tower later."

At that, farewells were given and the group made their way out into the darkening evening, ready to make their judgment.

* * *

Technique Names

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!- Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu

Suiton: Ryūsuiben- Water Release: Running Water Whip

Suiton: Hōsuihō- Water Release: Water Cannon

Hiden: Mahi Sakebi- Hidden Technique: Paralyzing Cry


	10. New Leaves

Even in the first light of dawn, Konoha was already bursting with life. Walking down the center of one of the bustling trade streets was the new Team Seven, still exuberant about that morning's victory.

"Man, did you see the look on Kakashi's face when Ieyasu grabbed the bells right out from under his nose?!" Naruto was leading the group, walking backwards through the morning crowd as he carried on with his teammates.

Following right behind, Sakura rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the way of a particularly busy deliveryman. "Yes Naruto, we were there. Still, we did work well together!."

"Agreed. I'm most fortunate to have been placed on this team!" Ieyasu said from his place at the back of the group.

"Heh, you can say that again! With this group, Sasuke won't know what hit h-" Naruto was cut off as he ran into someone behind him.

The pair staggered for a second, but both caught themselves before they fully fell over each other. Naruto spun around, already starting to apologize, before seeing who he had run into. "Shikamaru!"

"Troublesome as ever, I see." With a small smirk, Shikamaru shook his head. "Welcome back."

"Thanks! Oh, this is Ieyasu, by the way," Naruto paused, pointing back to the newest member of the team.

"I know. Actually, I'd love to catch up but Tsunade sent us to come and find you for a reason," Shikamaru said, back to looking as serious as ever. "She wants you all at the tower as soon as possible."

"Did she say why?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "She didn't tell me anything other than that. Whatever it is must be important though. I should be meeting with Temari right now…"

"Oh? Does somebody have a date?" Naruto prodded, leaning towards Shikamaru with a mischievous grin.

"N-no! We're meeting to work on the next Chunin exams. She's Suna's representative," Shikamaru deflected, looking away quickly. "Actually-" Looking back up at Naruto, he continued "- What are you planning to do about that?"

"About what?" Naruto answered, confused.

"The exam. After all, you're the only one of us that hasn't made chunin yet." Shikamaru answered.

Naruto was silent for a long moment as the information sunk in. As soon as it had done so, however, he let out a loud cry of dismay that attracted more than a few hostile stares from the traffic on the street. "You mean Sakura's…" He looked back at his pink haired teammate, who just gave a wink and victory sign in response.

Shikamaru nodded as well. "As much as I'd like to catch up, we need to get moving. We can talk more later."

Exchanging goodbyes, Team 7 headed towards the Hokage's tower. The building buzzed with activity, even more than the shinobi were used to. Forcing their way through a crowd of clerical staff, all of whose were trying to move large stacks of paperwork in various directions through the lobby, they eventually made their way to the main secretary. From there they were directed to go downstairs to a room that none of the three had ever seen before. A large set of stone doors were set into the walls, a small plaque reading "Council Chambers."

The three entered, and were faced with a surprisingly unimpressive room. It looked more like an Academy Classroom than anything else, with long rows of grey desks set in tiers ascending up the back of the room. At the front were a number of hastily set up chairs sitting in front of the lowest row of desks. These faced, along with the desks, a large podium at the front of the room.

Where the room itself was unimpressive, the people in it were anything but. High ranking shinobi and men that Naruto and Sakura recognized as important merchants all sat at the desks, alternately glaring down at the front of the room or animatedly arguing with their neighbors. The heads of each clan in Konoha- shinobi and civilian alike- filled the first two rows, with Danzo, Homura, and Koharu taking the center seats. In front of each person was a small nameplate, which clearly had been provided by the person it identified. Most of the shinobi's were simple block lettering on wood, but many of the civilians had ornate gold worked into theirs.

Finally, at the front of the room, Tsunade sat in the Hokage's formal robes, looking directly at the other new arrivals to Konoha. Shingen, Yukimura, and Sasuke were sitting there, along with Keiji, Hanbei, and Hideyoshi. Hanbei and Hideyoshi still bore the dust and dirt that had stuck to their clothes during the testing process, while the entirety of Shingen's right arm and chest was tightly bound in white bandages. In fact, the only one of the newcomers in the room that looked undamaged was Keiji, who just looked slightly hung over.

Upon catching sight of the others, Ieyasu faltered in his pace for a brief second, almost tripping over himself. He reigned in his reaction before most could notice, but he saw the eyes of many of the shinobi glance towards him for a brief moment before returning to their previous conversations. Naruto also caught the reaction out of the corner of his eye, but he was interrupted before he could turn back to his new comrade.

"All right, now that the last of us are here, let's get started- **Quiet down!"** Tsunade's voice bellowed through the room, stunning the civilians that had continued to chatter into silence. The Hokage let the silence hang for a moment before continuing. "Thank you. Now then, I have called for this assembly to bestow rank as Konohagakure ninja upon these men."

"This is a mistake! We can't trust these people!" One of the merchants in the upper tiers shouted.

"Your concerns are noted, but as this is not a debate, please refrain from speaking." Tsunade continued calmly. "This matter has already been thoroughly discussed by myself and our military experts, and it has been decided that this is what is best for the good of the Village. Upon conclusion of this ceremony, these four will be Konoha shinobi, with all of the rights, privileges, as duties that accompany that. Do you understand this?"

All four gave a short nod, at which Tsunade continued. "With that being said, you all have one last chance to decline this offer. Will you do so?"

Again moving almost in unison, the four all gave a short shake of their heads. Seeing that, Tsunade gestured to one of the ANBU standing guard at the edge of the room. As he stepped forwards with a quartet of armbands, Tsunade continued. "These represent your commitment to the forces and ideals of this village. The headband itself is merely a symbol, but you will be required to wear the symbol of the village somewhere on your person when on active duty and when outside of the village. Understood?"

Again, there were four nods, and Tsunade continued while the ANBU began to hand out the headbands. "Well then, with this I institute Maeda Keiji, Sarutobi Sasuke,Takeda Shingen, Takenaka Hanbei, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi as Tokubetsu Jonin, and Sanada Yukimura as Chunin in the service of Konoha. The rank of Tokubetsu Jonin is also granted to Tadekatsu Honda, though he is not present in this chamber. This is done before all of the witnesses gathered here today. You all are dismissed for today, but be ready for assignment and team distribution first thing tomorrow."

With that, Tsunade quickly made her exit from the chambers, even as the protests began to rise in volume again. At the same time, several ANBU appeared next to the newly instituted shinobi and directed them to the nearest exit. Each of the group's members was somewhat overwhelmed by the rush of bodies and conversation that passed by them as they were directed out of the building. Finally, they reached a secluded courtyard located behind the tower, and were able to catch some fresh air.

As soon as they reached the clear area, the displaced travelers began to cluster back together, with Ieyasu quickly moving over to Shingen. "Master Shingen! Yukimura-San! You're here as well?"

Grabbing Ieyasu's hand with his own unbandaged one, Shingen pulled the younger man in for a crushing one armed hug. "Indeed we are! And where is your attendant?"

"Tadakatsu's resting in a place that they've provided. One of the shinobi in there told me that they're going to have the meeting with him there." Ieyasu responded.

"Good, good. I can rest easy knowing that you had a familiar face through this- and there's not a man I'd rather have as a guard!" Shingen exclaimed, releasing Ieyasu with a pat on the back.

"Friendly faces are always good! In fact, seeing you all here makes me a bit more comfortable with this whole situation." Keiji said, coming up for a handshake of his own.

"It seems that you've grown less carefree since we met last, Maeda-San! What's there to worry about?! They seem well meaning here!" Shingen asked.

"The people that want to stab you in the back generally do." Sasuke interjected from his place behind Shingen.

"Well, if it comes to that, we'll test ourselves against them. But there's no reason to invite a fight when it could be avoided." Shingen said before turning back to the rest of the group. "Well then, I assume that you all came here in the same manner as us?"

"If you mean that flash of light, we did. As to what it was, we have no idea." Keiji answered.

"Well then, we'll have to see what we can learn about that. Until then, why don't we celebrate this meeting! After all, when did we last meet as friends?" Shingen asked, a more serious tone entering his voice.

"I'd rather focus on the actual problem here, but… What the hell?" Sasuke chimed in.

Keiji was immediately behind Sasuke, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "That's the spirit! You know, I already know some good bars around town…"

Yukimura gave a whoop, and moved around to join the pair. "We can share our tales of what we have experienced in this place!"

Ieyasu's grin widened, as he moved over to join the group. "And I could introduce you to some of our new comrades!" He gestured back at Naruto and Sakura, both of whom were standing slightly awkwardly to the side.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Lead the way, Madea-san!" The group all turned to leave the tower grounds and suddenly faced another ANBU.

The masked man bowed, nothing giving away any sort of emotion. "My apologies, but I must interrupt. Takeda-san, Madea-san, please feel free to proceed out to the town, but the rest of you have been requested by the Hokage, Team Seven included."

Like a switch had been flipped, the entire group's demeanor shifted. Each nodded, and farewells were exchanged with Keiji and Shingen. Then, as quickly as they had arrived, they followed the ANBU back into the tower.

* * *

Several minutes later, the group was assembled in the Hokage's office. They had been joined by Kakashi and another kunoichi, who had no mask, but bore a prominent ANBU tattoo on her arm. Most of the group was standing at attention at various points of the room, just waiting for the Hokage to speak.

Tsunade took her time, finally closing the folder that she had been reading through and looking up to the assembled team. "As if this day wasn't bad enough already, we just got a message from Suna. Gaara of the Sand, the Kazekage was kidnapped a day and a half ago."

Naruto was, predictably, the first to respond. "Wait, Gaara's the Kazekage?!"

Tsunade just nodded before continuing on. "Not only can we not let the leader of one of our foremost allies be taken, there's something more. This isn't the first abduction of a jinchuriki we've heard of, however. What's more, The kidnappers in each case were seen wearing black robes with red clouds."

"Akatsuki…" Kakashi interjected, almost unconsciously.

"They're making their move. But, they got greedy this time, and so we finally have a chance to track them. As such, it is vital that we intercept the kidnappers and recover Gaara before the tailed beast can be extracted." Tsunade paused, staring at the assembled group. "That's where your teams come in. I would have rather let you have a day or two to settle in before this happened, but I'll be giving you your team assignments now."

Pointing at Yukimura and Sasuke, the Hokage continued. "The two of you will be assisting Team Guy. Since Guy and Shingen are still injured from your meeting, Neji will lead your group. Team Seven, you already know your arrangement. You will accompany Team Guy on this mission. Honda is receiving the same briefing in your temporary residence, and will meet you at the gate."

Tsunade paused again, turning her attention to Hideyoshi and Hanbei. "As for the two of you, meet Uzuki Yūgao." She gestured to the unmasked ANBU, who a short nod. "The three of you will form a team from here on out. Your first mission will be the safe retrieval of the Kazekage. Understood?"

Hanbei raised his hand, and at a nod from the Hokage, spoke up. "As much as I appreciate the trust, I can't help but wonder why you're sending us out on this."

Tsunade grabbed the black folder that she had been reading from and slid it across the desk to Kakashi, who began to look over the contents. "That's because there's another factor in this. Like I said, this isn't the first attack on a jinchuriki. What I didn't mention was that at every single one of these incidents, an unknown shinobi also appeared in the surrounding area, and was inevitably involved in the resulting fight. Given that we haven't heard a thing from the other jinchuriki since then, we can only assume that these unknowns are working with the Akatsuki. Because of this, it's been decided that you all should be mobilized to counter any unknown threats."

"And if we turn out to be traitors, you can put us down before we get embedded in the village." Sasuke finished.

Tsunade nodded at that. "Yes. That being said, I am placing a significant amount of trust in you all, with reason to believe that it will be rewarded. Are there any more questions?"

A long moment of silence passed, every face in the room etched with the same stony determination. After a sufficient amount of time passed, Tsunade spoke. "Good. Time is of the essence, so prepare what you need and meet at the gate in twenty minutes. For those of you who aren't settled in, talk to Shizune to receive your stipend so that you can buy supplies- your new teammates can help you with that."

After a round of murmured assent from the room, Tsunade dismissed the new group, who left swiftly and silently, mentally preparing for their first mission.


	11. Second Gaiden: A Volcanic Meeting

Several months earlier, in the desolate wastes north of Iwa, another displaced traveler found himself wandering in an unfamiliar place. The short man grunted as he climbed a sheer cliff, sweat pouring off his brow as he moved along the edge of a massive volcanic hot spring. Cresting the ridge of the cliff, the white steam that filled the air swirled around him, clearing the view in front of him. Shifting the weight of his sword on his back, he took a drink from the sake jug at his waist and carried on.

As the stream cleared, the man could see a shape in the stone before him. Worked into the rough black stone of the mountain was the face of a massive demon, its gaping mouth forming a door that lead in the yawning blackness of the mountain's interior. There was a narrow stone walkway leading up to this entrance, flanked by pools of steaming black liquid. Rivulets of molten stone continuously poured down behind the demon's eyes, casting a hellish glow over the scene.

Taking away from the foreboding entrance somewhat was a small house that had been built off to the side. It seemed to be made from the same black stone that dominated the rest of the area, but it was covered in flowering mosses, and a small garden grew off to the side. Looking closer, the traveler could see lines of wet laundry flapping in the breeze behind the house, and a weathered wicker chair sitting on a makeshift porch. Standing next to the chair was a short man with bright red hair, who had begun to walk out to meet the visitor. He called out as he walked forwards, "If my cousin sent you out here, I'm going to need you to fuck back off."

"'Fraid I don't know who that would be, friend. I was just trying ta find a place to get away, and I ended up here. I had no intentions of intrudin', Mr…" The visitor trailed off.

"Sanzang Rōshi. You are?" While still hesitant, Rōshi had settled into a slightly less aggressive stance as he waited for an answer.

"Shimazu Yoshihiro. Nice to meetcha!" Yoshihiro took the jug from his waist and took a long drink before holding it out towards Rōshi. "Ya want some?"

Rōshi took a long look at the sake jug, and at the visitor holding it out. After a moment of internal deliberation, he shrugged. "Ah, what the hell." Gesturing back over his shoulder with his thumb, he continued. "Come on back to the house and we can chat. Unless you were in a hurry to get somewhere?"

Yoshihiro gave a dismissive wave. "No place in particular. 'Sides, might be nice to sit and have a conversation for once."

With that, the two men walked the rest of the way to the small house next to the demon's mouth. Rōshi went inside to grab a second chair, as the only pieces on the porch were a poorly made wicker chair and an equally rickety table. While he did so, Yoshihiro took in the view. Thick white mist hung through the air still, but the porch still had a clear view over an expansive field of volcanic activity. The ground was dotted with spots that glowed a bright red or orange as the lava rose through cracks before hardening in the light rain that steadily fell across the valley.

When Rōshi came out, he found Yoshihiro leaning on the porch's railing, lost in the scenery. "Quite the sight, huh? There's no other place like this… At least that I've ever seen."

Yoshihiro turned around, lingering for only a second more on the view. "You're right about that. I'm from a place not too different from this myself, but it's a totally different atmosphere back there."

Rōshi took his seat first, subtly stabilizing himself as he sat in the decaying wicker chair. "Where would that be, exactly? I haven't heard of too many active volcanoes down south, and most of those aren't in places that are friendly to Iwa."

Yoshihiro uncorked the jug of sake as he sat down, then held it out to Rōshi. "Satsuma, down in Kyūshu. If ya like it here, you should try and make it there at some point. Youse can't beat the sea breeze, and the hot springs are a damn sight better the ones 'round here."

"They might not look like much, but I've been told that their full of stuff that's good for the skin. Not that I know much about that though." Pausing, Rōshi took a deep drink. "So, what's the deal with that sword? Seems a bit big for just decoration."

"Blue Storm here's seen me through a lot so far. Still, I suppose I'm looking to put all that past me- My time out there's done." Yoshihiro trailed off at the end, looking off into the curling steam.

Rōshi followed his gaze, giving a nod. "It's a young man's game, that's for sure…" The elderly jinchūriki took another drink and passed the jug back, both men staring out into the distance.

After several minutes, Yoshihiro broke the silence, reaching over to slap Rōshi on the back. "Ok, enough o' this mopey bullshit! What kinda stories have youse got? Ya seem the type ta have a few."

Rōshi gave a short, loud laugh at that. "I've seen things that you wouldn't believe."

Yoshihiro grinned back, taking another sip from the sake jug. "Knew I had ya figured. Why don't youse try me, and we'll see about that?"

Rōshi leaned back as he began to speak. "Well, let me tell you about the time I tangled with the Third Kazekage. It was out past the Land of Ri-"

Before he could finish his sentence, both men had to throw themselves out of the way as the porch underneath them exploded into a cloud of splinters. They both came to a stop a short distance away, spinning back to face their previous position. Standing in a pile of broken wood was a tall man in black robes emblazoned with red clouds. He smirked, revealing rows of pointed teeth, and leveled a massive sword wrapped in bandages at the pair. "Yōton no Rōshi! I've been waiting for this for a long time!"

Rōshi glared back at the man. "Hoshigaki Kisame. Is your group betraying Iwa? Or is this just another job?"

Kisame's smirk just widened. "Why don't you beat me and find out for yourself?"

As the tension in the air increased, Yoshihiro interjected with a sharp laugh. "Looks like I can't get away from ta battlefield even when I try!" Casually pointing his thumb at the other swordsman, Yoshihiro looked back over at his new friend. "Rōshi-san, do ya mind if have first crack at 'im?"

"Careful now- he's not one to be taken lightly," Rōshi responded, not looking away from Kisame.

"They don't call me ta Demon of Kyūshu for nothin', friend!" Yoshihiro took a deep gulp from the jug of sake, spitting the last portion of it back onto his hands and the hilt of his sword. He settled into a fighting stance, his sword extending straight upwards farther than his own height. "Now then, why don't cha step up and test yer mettle against a generation's finest!"

Kisame's smile spread into a full grin. "Interesting! Let's see if you can back that talk up, Demon!"

With that, he rushed forwards, bringing his sword down on the shorter man. Yoshihiro brought his own sword down horizontally to block the strike, but the force behind the blow kicked up a massive plume of dust that surrounded the pair. Kisame kept up the pressure, immediately following up with a wide sweeping strike aimed under his guard. Yoshihiro responded by taking a small hop backwards out of range, narrowly dodging the tip of the blade. Kisame just pressed forwards, forcing Yoshihiro to retreat further back. However, simply due to his longer legs, Kisame advanced faster than his opponent could keep going back.

Kisame's sword slammed into Yoshihiro's unarmored side. The elder swordsman barely flinched from the force of the blow, despite the fact that his opponent's weapon was half as wide as he was tall. Kisame just grinned, reveling in the feel of flesh tearing as he pulled the blade back across Yoshihiro's side, only to have his weapon suddenly catch. Yoshihiro had caught the sword by pressing down with his shoulder, and had lifted his own blade even higher in the process. "Youse let yer guard down!"

Kisame could swear that he saw Yoshihiro's eyes glow red for a brief second before he stepped forwards with an overhead strike of his own. Kisame just put up his free arm to intercept the blade while increasing the pull on his own trapped sword. As soon as Yoshihiro's strike connected, however, the Akatsuki member regretted this. The serrated blade struck home with more force than Kisame thought the short man could generate, digging its way into his arm. Yoshihiro's sword stopped when it hit the bone, but the loud crack that echoed through the valley made it clear that both the bones in Kisame's forearm had snapped under the pressure.

Both men pulled themselves free, arcs of blood flying off of their weapons as they parted from the wounds that they had inflicted. Kisame jumped several feet back, hands already finishing a string of seals as he landed. " **Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu**!" Thrusting his unbroken arm forwards, Kisame sent a blast of water shooting towards Yoshihiro. The water changed in flight, becoming more streamlined as it formed into the shape of a shark. The shark shaped blast closed in on Yoshihiro, its mouth wide enough to swallow him whole.

" **Katsu!** " Yoshihiro shouted, the air in front of him seeming to buckle and compress under the force of the exclamation. The shark bullet hit this pocket of air and burst, spraying into a cloud of water droplets. Yoshihiro charged through the cloud, taking advantage of the brief cover provided by the cloud. Kisame was forced to leap back as the shorter man leapt from the cloud, slamming the flat side of his sword down where the Akatsuki member had just been standing. Kisame swung down at Yoshihiro, looking to capitalize on the missed strike, only to abandon the attack to shield his eyes as Yoshihiro used his sword like a shovel to toss a cloud of volcanic rock back up into his face. This was quickly followed by another powerful overhead strike, which Kisame countered at the last second with a strike of his own.

Blades and eyes locked together, the two men grinned wildly at each other. "You're not half bad, 'Demon!'"

"Youse're quite the thing yerself! But-" Yoshihiro suddenly stopped putting pressure into the blade lock and ducked, letting Kisame's sword sweep out over his head. The next moment, Yoshihiro pulled his blade in and swept at Kisame's legs. He was able to leap back from the assault, but not before Blue Storm caught his leg, the serrations tearing into his hamstring. "-as soon as youse lower yer guard, yer dead!"

Kisame laughed, still smiling as widely as ever. "I knew this was going to be a good fight, but this is more than I could have hoped for!" He began another string of hand seals, prompting Yoshihiro to barrel towards him again. He was about to bring his blade down on the Akatsuki member once more when he was distracted by a yell from his side. " **Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu**!"

Yoshihiro was barely able to look over in time to see a second Kisame standing behind the shark shaped blast of water before it struck him. The shark bullet hit him in the center of his chest, the force sending him flying backwards. Skidding over the ground, he hit one of the hot springs that dotted this valley. As he vanished beneath the black water, a third Kisame quickly stepped out of the mist, slamming a palm down on the surface of the water. " **Suiton: Goshokuzame!** " Five shark shaped constructs formed in the murky water, quickly vanishing from sight as they spiraled down into the depths of the hotspring.

The original Kisame didn't have time to reflect on this, however, as Rōshi had immediately charged, body wrapped in glowing molten rock. Kisame brought his sword down to block Rōshi's initial punch, the bandages wrapped around the blade blackening as they made contact with the jinchūriki's fist. Kisame leapt backwards from this as Rōshi quickly slid into a low sweeping kick. From there, he sprung upwards on one hand, curved kunai clutched in the other, using the momentum of his sweep to spin him back around towards Kisame. The jinchūriki's attack was interrupted halfway, however, as Kisame slammed his fist into his midsection, sending Rōshi flying away.

Rōshi was quick to recover, landing with a quick backflip to disperse the force. As he came around to face Kisame, he held a half seal to his lips and spat out several streams of molten rock. As the streams formed into boulders of superheated stone, Kisame and his clones scattered. One was dispursed by the assault, evaporating in a burst of steam as a boulder crashed through it, but the other two found their way to higher ground. Both Kisame and his remaining water clone stabbed their blades down into the rock and began a string of seals. Quickly completing them, they called out as one, " **Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!"**

Powerful streams of water shot out of their mouths, slamming into the glowing jinchūriki. Rōshi stayed on his feel under the pressure, but the water created a massive gout of steam as it evaporated under the heat of his own armor. Burnt by the steam, battered by the pressure, and wary of the veritable lake growing around his feet, Rōshi began to look for an escape route even as he felt his chakra flow out of him to maintain his armor's temperature. Even still, Rōshi's attention was pulled by a sudden burst of activity behind one of the Kisames. A hot spring sprang to life, spraying a gout of black water into the sky. In the center of the spray, obscured until the last second, was Yoshihiro with his sword held high above his head. With a shout, he brought it down on Kisame's unprotected back, cleaving him in two.

Both halves wavered for a moment, shimmering as they reverted back to plain water, but the opening was enough. With the lessening of pressure, Rōshi focused his chakra to the armor directly under the stream and began a string of seals. Seconds later, he slammed the palms of his hands into the ground and yelled " **Yōton: Hasu no** **H** **ana!"** Kisame quickly stopped his jutsu as the ground beneath him began to glow a hellish red. Mere seconds after he jumped away it buckled upwards, exploding into a cone of lava. Yoshihiro vanished in the resultant ash, the ridge on which he had been standing covered entirely by a black cloud. Rōshi continued the assault, closing in on the Akatsuki member in a matter of moments. His blows were tight, controlled, and mostly directed towards the larger shinobi's center of mass. Kisame was forced back onto the defensive, turning away each of Rōshi's attacks in turn.

Taking a second to tear off one of his sleeves that had ignited from a particularly close punch, Kisame studied his opponent. While he was able to block everything that Rōshi had been throwing at him, he wouldn't be able to bear the heat pouring off of his lava armor forever. With that in mind, he watched Rōshi's motions carefully, until the perfect time to strike arose. That time soon came as a right cross aimed at Kisame's jaw went wide, exposing Rōshi's side. Kisame brought Sameheda up and around, carrying the jinchūriki over his head in a perfect arc before slamming him back first into an open hot spring behind where Kisame had been standing. Two things happened when Rōshi hit the water. The first was the eruption of a superheated plume of steam that burned the prone jinchūriki's arms and legs before he vanished under the water's surface. The second was Yoshihiro propelling himself from the depths of the hotspring, sword at the ready.

Blue Storm caught Kisame directly under his sword arm. The Akatsuki member managed to catch it in his armpit, arresting its progress through sheer force, only for Yoshihiro to tighten his grip and let out a deafening shout. Yoshihiro's blade flared to life as bluish white arcs of electricity began to run up and down the length of the sword. A bright yellow aura flashed into existence around Yoshihiro for a brief second as he pushed, and Kisame's flesh tore. Now panicking, Kisame channeled the chakra for a last second substitution and vanished, but not before the serrations on Blue Storm tore through his rotator cuff. Yoshihiro landed roughly on the bank of the spring, slamming Blue Storm down into the rocks so that his momentum didn't flip him forwards. He looked up to find Kisame standing on the bank of another, small spring, panting as he held his arm on, as only a thin flap of skin on his shoulder kept it from tearing off completely.

Kisame looked down at the damage to his shoulder and frowned. "Looks like I can't keep taking you this lightly…" His voice began to deepen as his sword disappeared into his arm, flesh pouring over the bandages as they fused. Thick scales covered Kisame's arm as it knit itself back together. Gills rose on his thickening neck like knife wounds, and within seconds, a shark-human hybrid faced the pair with a grin wider than was humanly possible. "After all, I have a job to do."

Kisame brought his hands together, palms out, and shouted " **Suiton: Senshokukō!"** Water flowed upwards, coming from both the pool that Kisame had already created and the natural springs, forming into a towering wave that appeared to be composed of hundreds of sharks. Yoshihiro and Rōshi both retreated behind a stone outcropping, the ridge of stone letting the wave break over their heads.

Rōshi and Yoshihiro crouched in the small shelter provided by the outcropping, listening as the stone began to crack under the sheer pressure. Rōshi was quick to act, placing one palm on the stone while the other formed a half tiger seal. As soon as he did so, the stone thickened, expanding upwards into a solid cliff of volcanic stone. As the rock wall grew, Rōshi looked over at his new partner. Shouting to be heard over the roaring water, he spoke over his shoulder. "I think it's time that you pulled back!"

Taking a second to finish a gulp of sake from his jug, Yoshihiro shouted back. "Not on yer life, friend! I can't just walk away from a clash like thissun!" As he spoke, several of the shark shaped masses of water had detached from the rushing wave, turning back along their paths to leap into the makeshift shelter. Yoshihiro again let out a deafening " **Katsu,"** causing the projectiles to crash into the shockwave and harmlessly dissipate. As the last one was blown apart, Kisame revealed himself, shooting forwards at the pair from inside the cloud of mist. Yoshihiro quickly ducked backwards under his outstretched claw, leaning backwards to make way for the obsidian pillar that shot backwards from the stone wall next to Rōshi's hand. The pillar struck Kisame straight in the chest, pushing him back out into the downpour before the sheer water pressure of the wave snapped the stone in half. Yoshihiro straightened out, grinning back at Rōshi. "'Sides, if I weren't here, who would guard yer blind spot?"

"It wouldn't need guarding if you weren't here! I'm trying to hold back to not catch you up in my techniques!" Rōshi shot back, visibly sweating from the exertion of sustaining the wall.

"Well there's yer problem!" Yoshihiro laughed, watching the rushing water for any signs of his opponent. "Stop holdin' back! I can take anythin' youse got, and if I can't," Yoshihiro shrugged, "then youse warned me."

Rōshi just sighed. "You're going to regret this." As soon as he said that, red chakra began to pour out across his body. The malevolent energy formed a cloak around Rōshi, one tail winding back into the shelter. As the cloak formed, the temperature skyrocketed, the stone that Rōshi had been supporting the first thing to glow red. The ground began to shift and bubble under the intense heat. As the stone floor began to liquefy, Yoshihiro just laughed, a sheen of sweat the only thing betraying the change in environment. At that moment, Kisame crashed back into the shelter, this time choosing to burst directly through what remained of the rock outcropping.

Kisame reeled back as he passed the stone barrier, caught off guard by Rōshi's Tailed Form, but that didn't stop the tide of water from pouring in behind him. The loud hiss of steam forming filled the room for a split second before everything was underwater. Rōshi and Yoshihiro both caught on to the current, letting the water sharks carry them away from Kisame. The constructs bucked, trying to turn back and bite their targets, but they were unable to pierce the aura of heat surrounding Rōshi before they boiled away.

Kisame himself faced no such difficulty, having quickly pursued his targets through the rolling wave. His enhanced form allowing him to swim faster than his opponents could retreat, he swiftly overtook Rōshi. Raking clawed fingers along Rōshi's side, an eerie red glow filled the water as part of the jinchūriki's cloak was absorbed into Kisame's hand. Rōshi responded with a quick series of hand signs, ending in him opening his mouth toward the shark man. Brilliant green flames erupted from his mouth, engulfing Kisame.

Kisame was silhouetted under the crashing wave, his outline clearly visible as the flames collapsed inwards and were drawn into his skin. At the same time, however, the water directly around him was superheated, immediately expanding into steam. Kisame was forced to jump back from the cloud, hissing as the vapor scalded him. Seconds after exiting the cloud, Kisame had to leap back again, narrowly dodging Yoshihiro's blade as it appeared from within the mist. Yoshihiro followed up quickly, swinging out at Kisame's unprotected stomach. He blocked the strike with one arm, the scales coating the surface of his skin acting as an armor coating. Unfazed, Yoshihiro planted his feet, drawing back into his ready stance.

Kisame didn't let the moment pass him by, however. As Yoshihiro withdrew, Kisame's arm shot out towards the unarmored portion of his chest, directly under his right arm. The blow struck true, sharpened fingertips digging into Yoshihiro's flesh, but Kisame was the one who stepped backwards from the impact. Where the blow should have carved away the side of his ribcage at best, Yoshihiro had five long gouges that superficially crossed over his bare pectoral. In the same breath, Yoshihiro completed his own strike, forcing Kisame to bring his other arm forwards to block Blue Storm from reaching his face.

Yoshihiro looked up into Kisame's inhuman face, grinning as they locked eyes over crossed weapons. "Youse' got some real sharp claws there-" Pausing mid sentence, Yoshihiro shifted his weight back, pulling Blue Storm back up to its full height and slamming it back down into Kisame's arm in the space of a single breath. "But-" Yoshihiro repeated the cycle again, even quicker. "Ya lost yer edge-" Another breath, another strike hammering down. Kisame winced, looking for an opening to pull back, noting that each successive strike was stronger than the last. "When youse threw away yer sword!" A fourth strike hit home, blood rising rapidly as it was forced out through a growing spider web of cracks forming in the scales of Kisame's arm.

Before Yoshihiro's fifth strike could hit home, Kisame bowed out and away from him, just barely avoiding Blue Storm's tip as it slammed down into the rocks. As soon as he had moved, however, Kisame had to duck out of the way as a brilliant red streak reached out for his face. Scales beginning to blister up and slough off, Kisame moved quickly, burning through a string of hand seals as he narrowly wove around Rōshi's attacks. Sacrificing the moment of scorching contact, he slammed Rōshi off to one side with a vicious swing of his less damaged arm before leaping straight up into the air. When he was almost level with the overhanging cliff, he called back down " **Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shōha!"**

The exclamation was accompanied by a tremendous torrent of water. The water flowed out from the center of Kisame's downwards jet, crushing anything and everything in its path. Rōshi and Yoshihiro were caught up in its unrelenting path, both tossed about like so much flotsam. Before the water could reach the edge of the cliff on either side, however, something strange happened. Clinging to itself, the water curved back upwards, rising against the force of gravity into a tremendous dome. As the turbulent current slowed slightly, both Yoshihiro and Rōshi managed to gain their bearings just enough to see the solitary figure hanging in the center of the newly created water, staring at the both with a wide smile.

" **Suiton: Goshokuzame!"** Without any movement on his part, five glowing lines of chakra spiraled out of Kisame's outstretched hand. Quickly coalescing into five ethereal sharks, they darted towards Yoshihiro's position. Kisame quickly repeated the process, not waiting for the first set of sharks to get halfway to Yoshihiro before sending a second quintet on their tails. Smirking, Kisame turned away from the swordsman to his appointed target, the water around him spiraling into viscous eddies as he launched himself towards Rōshi.

Rōshi spun in place, narrowly avoiding Kisame's outstretched claws as they streaked underneath him. He pushed back against the surrounding water, trying to force himself backwards to avoid the follow up attack, but the combination of his lack of leverage and the thin layer of steam being generated by his own chakra cloak slowed him enough so that Kisame's hand dragged three long gashes up his torso. Rōshi could feel his wounds begin to knit themselves back together even before Kisame's hand left the wound, but the raw damage wasn't what concerned him. Rather it was the swell of chakra that he felt drain away from his cloak and into his opponent from the brief contact. He forcefully directed more of his chakra to the front of his cloak for a split second, causing the temperature to skyrocket. The pocket of steam created by the flare collapsed inwards, giving Rōshi an opportunity to slam his feet into the center of Kisame's chest and use him as a springboard to push off of. As Rōshi put distance between him and Kisame, he looked back to see that there was a coil of reddish orange chakra still filtering into his skin, which didn't seem nearly as badly burnt as it should have been from the close quarters combat.

Kisame didn't just let Rōshi idly paddle away, however. Within seconds, he was bearing down on the jinchuuriki again. Rōshi was quickly pinned down, victim to swooping attack after attack. Every move, each surge of heat only held Kisame back for a second before he set about on his next assault. Kisame danced around short lived gouts of green fire and rocks that shot out from the surface of the water as he toyed with his prey. Rōshi was forced completely on the defensive as he backpedaled, desperately feeling out behind him as he sought the edge of the sphere.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the sphere, Yoshihiro was finding a somewhat easier time of things. Sword slipped back into the strap across his back, he cut through the water at an astonishing pace, occasionally rolling to the side or diving to avoid the sharks that spiraled around him. Eventually, one dive came slightly too slow as a shark bit down on his exposed shoulder. Barely pausing, Yoshihiro reached up and grabbed the construct by the nose, forcing its jaw up and back out as he pried it open. As the transparent teeth came free of the rows of bite marks, he swung back around, sending the shark hurtling back at one of its companions. The two underwater predators passed through each other without touching, the one that was thrown only delayed for scant seconds as it turned itself back over, but that was enough for Yoshihiro to regain his slight lead.

Yoshihiro soon reached what he was aiming for- the cliff wall. The dome had formed so water extended almost to the cliff's lip. Yoshihiro pushed into the submerged granite, pivoting at the last second so that he could use the crevasses and cracks of the volcanic slope to scale the cliffiside. With the extra leverage, Yoshihiro ascended towards the surface quickly, leaving the sharks to nip at his heels as he climbed. When he was almost three fourths of the way to the surface, he abruptly came to a halt, slamming his palm into the underside of a narrow overhang so that he wouldn't float further up. Milliseconds afterwards, Kisame materialized from the twisting wake of a shark that had been paralleling Yoshihiro's climb, and gouged a pit into the granite where he would have been. Pulling himself downwards with the cliff, Yoshihiro pulled Blue Storm from his back and slammed the flat of the blade into Kisame in one fluid motion. The edge of Yoshihiro's blade crushed the shark man into the unforgiving cliff edge, where the clone dissolved into the surrounding water. Yoshihiro continuing his ascent without hesitation, moving quickly enough that the closest shark barely had time to snap at his legs before he pulled out of the way.

Yoshihiro soon reached his goal, drawing a loud breath as his head pushed above the surface of the globe. His free climb continued unabated, even as he left the water. As his trailing foot pulled free from the water's surface, Yoshihiro looked back down and shouted. Two of the shark constructs barely had time to burst from the water, jaws open wide, before they crashed into the solid wall of force and splattered back into a spray of harmless water. Yoshihiro closed the gap and swung himself over the cliff's edge seconds later. Now standing above Kisame's trap, he took a moment to steady himself. First, he pulled the jug from his waist and took a long drink of sakē, spitting a mouthful back out over his hands as he adjusted his grip. Second, he took his stance, feeling out the ground beneath him as he settled into the familiar form. Third, he drew himself up to his full height, lightning flashing across his body and blade alike as he hoisted Blue Storm high. Finally, he struck home.

With a shout that would have been deafening if there had been anyone to hear it, Yoshihiro slammed his sword down into the top of the cliff. The shock from the impact was immediately visible, sending a gout of powdered stone shooting into the sky while a large crack shot downwards along the cliff face. Kisame and Rōshi barely noticed the fracture as it traveled past their field of vision, but took notice when it hit the valley floor. The fracture expanded downwards, spreading out until it hit one of the valley's active lava tubes. The superheated magma followed the fissure back out until it hit the water table. The water under the springs turned to steam, and the valley floor exploded.

Kisame and Rōshi both separated in a flash, drawing back to protect themselves from the wave of shattered granite that the explosion was propelling up through the water dome. Kisame simply swam for his life, while Rōshi created a buffer of superheated air to force him backwards as fast as possible while also melting the smaller shards away. Still, both ninja found themselves with several large chunks of stone embedded in their bodies as they moved away from the brunt of the cataclysm.

Even through the intervening layer of water, a thick cloud of dust, steam, and other volcanic gases obscured the valley floor for a minute as Yoshihiro peered over the edge of the cliff. He held a hand to his eyes to block out the swirling particles that still filled the air, as well as the glare from the new stream of lava that somehow now flowed out from the gash in the broken cliff beneath him. This quickly became necessary, as his vision of the valley cleared suddenly. The cloud was pulled down and away, drawn in to two opposing vortexes that sprung up from beneath the haze. One vortex surrounded a bloody Kisame, who stood snarling on a pillar of water that seemed to be quickly coiling up around him, moving towards his outstretched hands. The other swirled around an ape of tremendous size, its violent red and green fur contrasting sharply against the dark black landscape that it now towered over. It howled, beating its massive fists against its chest as its four tails thrashed behind it.

Yoshihiro pulled his own sword behind his back, the blade beginning to burn with the same blue white aura that now surrounded the swordsman, as the other two combatants also channeled their power. What remained of the water in the area spiraled up around Kisame, coalescing into the outline of a massive shark, while the tailed beast was surrounded by a flare of copper green chakra.

" _ **Ushaaa!"**_

" **Suiton: Daikōdan no Jutsu!"**

Yoshihiro and Kisame both shouted at the same moment that the Yōnbi let loose a primal roar. All three let their techniques loose moments after. The strange opening at the back of the Yōnbi's mouth disgorged a tremendous gout of green flame, while the shark surrounding Kisame lurched forwards at the tailed beast as he forced his arms forwards, and a brilliant arc of crackling white light was launched from Yoshihiro's sword as he swung it forwards. Kisame's shark met the Yōnbi's flame with a tremendous crack as the first layer of the construct was immediately converted to steam. For a moment, the two attacks were at a standstill, before Kisame's began to advance, growing even larger as it pushed through. Kisame's progress was quickly halted, as Yoshihiro's attack slammed into his back. While not cutting deeply, it still levied enough force to carry him forwards into the back of his own jutsu. The arc of energy didn't stop as it hit the water construct, instead tearing through it into the fire. The fire flowed around Kisame and the vacuum formed in the wake Yoshihiro had cut into the mass of water. Almost as one, the remaining mass evaporated, creating a massive explosion that filled the valley with steam. When this cloud cleared away hours later, silence reigned.

* * *

Several miles away, a pair of figures limped down a rocky trail, the mouth of the valley shrouded in thick mist behind. They came to a slow stop, looking back. Both were quiet, their labored breathing the only sound next to the light patter of the rain began to fall. They rested in the near silence for several long minutes before one of them spoke.

"Gehehe… That was a hell of a scrap back there." Yoshihiro gave a grin to his partner, wincing slightly as he accidentally shifted his wounded arm.

Rōshi gave a weak smile back, leaning on Yoshihiro's shoulder for support. "That's one way of looking at it. Still, I don't know if I would have made it out of there if you hadn't been around. So… thanks."

"Least I could do. 'Sides, I couldn't let youse take that fight all fer yerself!" Yoshihiro finished with a loud laugh. As it trailed off, he turned back to Rōshi, sombering. "Well then, what are yer plans?" Can't say I think yer house is still livable after all that."

Rōshi shook his head, then winced from the sudden movement. "Can't stay here, that's for sure. Either Ōnoki decided it was time to get rid of his uncooperative cousin, or the Akatsuki are after my head for some other reason. Either way, I can't show my face round here, and I sure as hell haven't made many friends elsewhere. So… I guess I'm headed south for now, unless you had a better idea."

Yoshihiro just shrugged, adjusting his grip so Rōshi wouldn't fall from losing his support. "Can't say that I do. 'Fact, I was goin' to ask if I could tag along. After all, I still don't exactly know where we are, and now I know that hangin' around you is bound ta be interesting."

"Can't argue with that logic. Well then, if we keep along this road, there's a small village in a few miles. We can rest there for a night, then make for the border." Yoshihiro nodded in response, and the pair continued off down the road, into the growing twilight.

* * *

Technique Name Translations:

 **Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu** : Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique

 **Suiton: Goshokuzame** : Water Release: Five Sharks Frenzy

 **Suiton: Bakusui Shōha:** Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave

 **Yōton: Hasu no Hana:** Lava Release: Lotus Flower

 **Suiton: Senshokukō:** Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks

 **Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shōha** : Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave

 **Suiton: Daikōdan no Jutsu** : Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique

* * *

Apologies for the missed week! But, I'm back, with something a bit different than the recent chapters. Hope you all enjoy, and see you next week!


	12. Dispatch to the Sand

An odd assortment of men and women stood off to the side of Konoha's main gate. The newly minted shinobi had arrived at the meeting point well before their teammates, having only stopped off a couple of shops before making it to the gate. As such, they were left to stand and wait until the appointed time. The group gathered many curious stares from passersby, especially Tadakatsu, but the tense atmosphere surrounding them was thick enough to dissuade any from getting too close. The six men had split apart again, pairing off to discuss their preparations with their teammates.

"Rations?"

"Seven days worth, for each of us."

"Canteens?"

"Check!"

"Fresh clothes?"

"Check!"

"Scrolls and ink?"

Yukimura looked up as he paused in his packing, the sudden motion causing the six coins on his necklace to clatter softly against the metal plate of his Leaf headband. "...You really think that we need that?"

Sasuke shrugged, idly scratching under his eye as he leaned against a nearby wall. "You never know. Still, it's better to be prepared for anything."

Nodding enthusiastically, Yukimura leapt to his feet. "Splendid advice as always, Sasuke! I, Yukimura, shall take to heart at once!"

With that, Yukimura dashed off back down the street towards the center of town. After a moment, Sasuke sighed, shifted forwards, and finished wrapping the pile of supplies that he had left behind. Meanwhile, Hideyoshi and Hanbei's discussion slowed to a frosty silence, the two men standing uncomfortably under the ever present gaze of Yūgao. Hideyoshi quietly watched the rapidly disappearing back of Yukimura, only moving when he had fully disappeared.

He had barely taken a step before he was interrupted by Yūgao. "And where do you think you're going?".

Hideyoshi replied without turning back to face her, "There is something that I must discuss with our teammate. If that is not overstepping our limits." The last portion of his reply was delivered almost as a threat, rather than any deference.

With that, the tension in the street magnified immensely. Yūgao and Hanbei both twitched their hands towards their respective weapons, while Sasuke subtly tensed as well. Tadakatsu's head jerked to the side as well, eye blazing red as he stared Hideyoshi down. The standoff was halted prematurely as Hideyoshi loudly exhaled, his fist slowly unclenching as he did so. "... I apologize."

"Accepted." Yūgao's eyes narrowed as she responded, though she did relax slightly. "And no, there's no problem so long as you stay in sight."

Hideyoshi simply nodded before continuing forwards. Walking to the far end of the group, he paused for a second before tapping Ieyasu on the shoulder. As he turned, Hideyoshi spoke, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. "May we speak in private?"

Tadakatsu tensed even further at this, starting to shift forwards protectively even as Ieyasu gave a quick wave of his hand. "No Tadakatsu, it's okay! We should talk."

With that, the pair moved away from the rest of the group, stopping in the shadow cast by a nearby building's overhang. The pair stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Hideyoshi spoke. "I must say, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Ieyasu laughed nervously, "I have to say the same. And especially not… cooperating with these people."

"I had decided to take the chance to learn from my mistakes, and see if I could not strive for your strength. But, now that I see that it failed you as well." Hideyoshi crossed his arms as he finished.

Ieyasu started back, what little composure he still had slipping as he replied. "M-My strength? That's- I'm honored-" He froze, his features hardening as he met Hideyoshi's stare. "Wait, what do you mean 'failed?'"

"Is it not obvious? Your strength was surpassed, just as you overtook my own. As such, it's hardly worth endeavoring for." Hideyoshi answered, not responding to Ieyasu's tone in the least.

"Now, I may not have achieved my goals yet, but I would hardly say that I've been surpassed!" Ieyasu bit back, fists unconsciously clenching.

Hideyoshi gave a loud _hmph_ of dismissal. "If you are here as well, then you must have been. Though, what person in that rotted country managed to take your head?"

"Take- Take my head?! No one! Why would you think that?" Ieyasu asked, aggression falling away.

"What other way would you have arrived here? It may not be the afterlife that we pictured, but that is where we are. Or do you not remember what happened to you?" HIdeyoshi asked.

"No- I didn't die!" Ieyasu steadied himself, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I was taking a walk with my men, and there was a flash of light, and I found myself in this country, along with Tadakatsu. Shingen, Yukimura, Keiji, they all- I didn't ask, but they all didn't mention anything about dying! I don't know where we are, or what we're all doing here, but I don't think that this is the afterlife."

Hideyoshi didn't respond for a long moment, simply staring back at Ieyasu. "I see. If you were alive when you came here, then your strength may have value after all. At the very least, you were undone through underhanded cowardice." Turning abruptly, he started to walk back towards Hanbei and Yūgao. After taking a few steps, he stopped again, half turning back to Ieyasu. "If nothing else, I'm glad that I was able to speak to you again. At the last moment, I was… proud. Of you."

A flicker of emotion passed over Hideyoshi's face before he turned away again and began to walk back over to his own team. As he left, Ieyasu stood stunned in his wake, eyes wide in shock. He let the feelings wash over him for a moment, before smiling and wiping away the moisture that had just started to glisten in his eyes. No sooner than he did so, the entire group's attention was drawn by a loud shout coming from down the road.

Looking for the source, they all saw Yukimura carrying an armful of scrolls, with the rest of the shinobi walking behind him. With that, they finished tying their provisions together, the samurai loaded up their horses, Ieyasu bid farewell to Tdakatsu, and the Kazekage Retrieval Squad left Konoha.

* * *

A loud crack echoed through a secluded valley, a flock of birds filling the air with noise as they fled from their riverside perches. Saika Magoichi gave a short grunt, shouldering her rifle. She made her way through a bank of dense underbrush, moving to the side of a wounded deer. The animal thrashed as she approached, blood frothing around its nose and mouth as it tried to push itself back up to its feet. Magoichi looked down at the deer and silently drew one of the pistols from the holster wrapped around her leg. One shot later, she began the process of butchering the carcass.

This wasn't the first time this process had played itself out over the past week. Eight days prior, during the middle of a firing test, Magoichi had been overwhelmed by a sudden flash of light, and had woken up in a strange desert. From there, she had simply fallen back on her old survival training, slowly making her way through the unexplored terrain. In a way, it was an oddly nostalgic journey. Even the gruesome work that she now found herself doing began to fall away, her hands performing the actions by memory as her thoughts drifted back to the past.

* * *

" _Now that w_ _e'_ _ve skinned the back, why don't you start on the legs-" The speaker suddenly reached out, grabbing the young Saika by the arm as she stabbed her knife into the leg. "Easy now! You have to be careful or you'll damage the meat."_

 _She scowled back up at her mentor, trying her best to look more intimidating that the seven year old girl that she was. "Why do you care? It's dead, isn't it?"_

 _The older hunter smiled softly, setting down his knife on a nearby stump. Kneeling down to the girl's eye level, he put a large hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "We must show respect for that which we have killed. It has made the sacrifice of dying for our hunger, and so we respect what it has done for us."_

" _Look around us, little crow." He continued, gesturing to the surrounding forest. "Everything around us relies on everything else. In this case, the deer will sustain us, while we shall carry its soul within us so that it may reach Nirvana. Everything has its prescribed role and position- it's like our clan. But, none of them ever take each other for granted. That's why we cannot act recklessly ourselves- it would take away from the sacrifices of all that have come before us, and disappoints the ones that depend on us. Do you understand?"_

 _The was a long pause before she nodded, looking towards the ground. "...Yeah."_

 _Smile widening into a grin, the man stood back to his full height. "Well then, let's get moving! It's almost dark out, and just between you and me, if we get this back to the camp before it gets too late, I'll teach you my secret stew recipe."_

 _With a small smile, the girl replied. "I would like that, Magoichi-san."_

 _Magoichi frowned, crossing his arms. "Still not going to call me dad?" He and the young Saika stared at each other, locking gazes. Magoichi turned away first, reaching over to rub the girl's head as he let out a loud laugh. "Still as stubborn as ever, Sayaka! Well, I hope that you'll warm up to me yet. Till then, the clock's ticking, and we have a lot of work to do…"_

* * *

Later that night, meat smoking over a small campfire, Magoichi consulted a carefully protected piece of parchment. On this was drawn a crude map of the land that she had covered in her wandering so far. Mostly the map consisted of the winding river valley that she had been traveling down, but there were some other marks- the direction of sunrise and sunset, as well as other landmarks that she had passed.

Taking a small stick of charcoal, she began to note her progress for the day. em" _The river is widening. If I'm right, there's a bend coming up, or at least a dip in the walls. I can get out there, and I'll be able to see if there's a village nearby. If not, I can reach the sea to the west."_ _/em_

Finishing her nightly survey, Magoichi then moved to take stock of her rapidly dwindling reserves. Given the sudden nature of her disappearance, she only had her basic survival kit, which all members of the Saika clan were obligated to carry at all times. This kit had contained enough food for three days, but aside from a small amount of rice and nori laying at the bottom of the crude leather pouch, the supply had been completely exhausted.

The deer would let her last for at least a week longer, and she had been fortunate enough to come across the river valley that she was now in. According to her calculations, it was enough to get at least halfway to the sea, if she didn't find anything before then. Still, it would have to be enough. Looking up at the night sky, Saika once again said a silent prayer before turning in for the night.

* * *

Three days passed before the Rescue Team reached the walls of Suna. Hardly an hour later, Naruto and Ieyasu both sat in a sterile waiting room. The room was almost eerily silent, something that stood in sharp contrast to the faint clamor that they heard seeping in from behind the black double door that barred the way into the hospital proper. Hours passed like this, the pair content to spend the time the same way that they had spent the trip there.

"Alright!"

Both men snapped to look at the door in unison as their missing teammate slammed through the door. Sakura slouched across the room before collapsing into a seat between her teammates. "He'll pull through," Sakura exhaled. "It was touch and go, but he'll make it."

Naruto slumped slightly, tension flooding out of his shoulders. "That's great."

"It was rough, though. Slow, complete destruction of almost every major organ over the course of days, paired with a psychotropic element that would ensure that he never blacked out from the pain… These Akatsuki bastards are real pieces of work. Looking at that, I have to wonder- What could they be doing to Gaara?" Sakura said, staring down at her hands while she talked.

Naruto winced slightly at her question, hesitating for a second before speaking up. "They're trying to extract Shukaku."

Starting, Sakura looked up to meet his eyes. "W-what?! That's- How would they do that? And why?"

"I don't know how they're doing it, but they're trying to collect all the tailed beasts. Why, I don't know but whatever they want, whatever they're doing... " Naruto gripped the arm of his chair tighter, the wood beginning to splinter. "We've got to stop them."

A weighty silence hung over the room for a long moment. "I'm sorry… But what is a tailed beast?" Ieyasu cautiously interjected. "You keep mentioning them, but I've never heard the term."

Sakura looked over at him, quickly taking on the tone of someone reciting a textbook definition. "Well, a Tailed Beast is a demon, a rampaging beast made of pure, malevolent chakra. There's nine of them, all sealed into people- jinchūriki. Gaara is one of those nine-"

"And I'm another." Naruto cut in, looking down at his folded hands. "He has the One Tail- Shukaku - and the Nine Tailed Fox is sealed inside of me."

Ignoring the stunned look that Sakura was giving him, he pressed on. "That's why we have to save him. We've both got this thing inside of us, but he's always been alone. He's always had to bear the harder burden. And now it might kill him! Just because of what's inside, these people think that they can just use us like-"

Naruto stopped abruptly, looking up as he felt a firm weight press down on his shoulder. Ieyasu had moved in front of him, and was half kneeling to look him in the eye, hand resting on his shoulder. "I can't say that I know much about these beasts, but I know you, Naruto. I've met men that were called demons, and I can tell you that they earned that title. But you…" Ieyasu formed his free hand into a fist, resting it on Naruto's chest. "You've got a good heart. You're a good person, and from how you talk about him, I'm sure that you're friend is too. So, whatever these 'Akatsuki' are planning, we'll stop them. You have my word." Ieyasu's face lit up as he gave a soft smile. "Now, let's get ready to go rescue the Kazekage."

Sakura nodded, quickly patting Naruto on the shoulder as well. "They still need me back there, and I need to make up some more of the antidote for us to take. But, after that's done, I'll be ready."

With that, Sakura made her way back through the double door, strength returned to her stride. Silence fell back over the waiting room, but the tension had abated. The two men waited in comfortable silence, reading themselves internally for the battles to come.

* * *

"Neiji, Tenten, I'm honored that you would come down here with me, but you really didn't have to." The three found themselves at one of Suna's larger stables as the rest of the rescue team pursued their own tasks. "I'm the one who volunteered to do this- I don't want to put undue burden on you all."

"Don't worry about it." Tenten waved him off, carrying a bale of hay towards the stalls. "I used to help out my dad with the horses whenever he had a big shipment going out of town, so I'm used to this kind of thing. Still, why didn't you want the people here to just take care of this on their own?"

"I mean no offense, but if the our comrades and I are going to be depending on these horses, then I need to do my utmost to take care of them. Otherwise, we'll just be a burden on this mission, and the ones that follow." Yukimura replied.

"I doubt that that will be a concern. After all, I may not be an expert in regards to horsemanship, but I can't say that I've even seen someone get that sort of speed out of a horse before." Neji said, looking up from the trough that he was filling with water.

Yukimura looked up from what he was working on, beaming. "Thank you for the compliment, but it's all due to my Lord. After all, the Takeda Cavalry is renowned throughout the… I mean, our land. The only person who can come close to matching us is Date-san, and then only barely!"

"Date? Who's that?" asked Tenten.

Yukimura looked blankly at her for a few seconds before rapidly shaking his head. "Oh, right! I mean Date Masamune, the One Eyed Dragon. He's the Lord of Oshu, an another warrior from our world."

Having finished with the water, Neji walked over to join the other two. "From your tone, he sounds like a close friend."

Yukimura's expression shifted slightly at that, becoming contemplative. "Not a friend so much as a dear rival. More than anyone else, he helps me see how far I have come, and how much more I need to grow."

Neiji nodded once, smiling softly. "I can understand that well. I know someone like that also." He reached out, resting a hand on Yukimura's shoulder. "I hope that you are able to see him again one day."

Yukimura smiled back. "Thank you. I hope for the same. But, until then, my duty lies with Shingen-sama and my fellow team members. As such, shall we finish up before we have to head out again?" Neiji and Tenten both gave quick nods, and the three of them went silently back to their work.

* * *

"Pathetic. This truly is a city without strength," remarked Hideyoshi as their group passed by a group of merchants selling trinkets from threadbare pieces of cloth that they laid on the ground like a blanket. "It's no wonder that the leader of this place was taken so easily."

"True. You have to wonder, is this what is bound to happen without strong leaders?" Hanbei asked.

Hideyoshi paused for a second. "I would have said yes, but if Ieyasu is to be believed-"

"If Ieyasu is right, you mean. He's still naive about these kind of things!" Hanbei interjected.

"And was Katakura naive as well? Or is it that their ideals, naive as they may be, are backed by strength?" Hideyoshi asked as he continued forwards, not sparing a glance at Hanbei, who simply shook his head at the response.

"I am still here, by the way." Yūgao spoke up from behind the two men. "And we are technically a team."

"Something that we are of course grateful for, but I fail to see your point at the moment." Hanbei answered quickly.

Speeding up slightly, Yūgao moved up to be even with her two teammates. "I mean, even if we never become anything more than teammates, you could at least try to include me in these little conversations that you're always having. To try and build trust, if nothing else."

A hint of a scowl crossed Hanbei's lips before he quickly replaced it with a bland smile. "And if we included you? What insights might you have to share?"

The ANBU member scoffed. "Plenty. I've lead teams before. I've seen some of the best and worst Kages to ever hold the title. I've had just as much experience as either of the two of you, so don't look down on me."

Hanbei started to reply, but was cut off as Hideyoshi spoke over him. "I apologize. The next time we discuss these matters, I would care to hear your opinion. For now, it seems that we are at an end."

At that, Sasuke dropped from the shadow of an overhanging roof. "We're heading out. Meet at the front gates in 10."

Yūgao scowled. "Why so fast? We haven't even had the chance to restock from the first leg of the trip."

"There's been a lead on where the kidnappers went. It's time sensitive, though, so we need to move fast before we lose what we have" Sasuke shrugged, before stepping back into the shadows. As he began to melt into the darkness of the merchant's stall, he spoke. "That's all they told me, anyhow."

Turning back to her charges, Yūgao barked out orders. "Alright, let's move!" The pair nodded in acknowledgment, and the three of them hurried off towards the front of the city.

* * *

Kakashi leaned on a wall next to the gate proper, lazily surveying the assembling group. Over the twelve minutes that had passed since he had Sasuke send the message to gather, the members of his extended squad had been filtering in. The reformed Team Guy was the last to arrive, Neji and Tenten helping Yukimura lead the horses from the stable. As they walked up, Kakashi stepped forwards, clapping once to get everyone's attention.

As soon as everyone present looked over at him, Kakashi addressed the group. "Alright! Looks like everyone is ready to head out. We've found a trace from one of the kidnappers that we'll be using to track them down. In addition, one of our contacts has given us a lead on a potential hideout that they might be using. Because of this, We'll be splitting into two groups to minimize the effects of any ambushes or false information that they may have planted."

"Team Guy and Team Yūgao, you'll skirt south and move directly to the potential hideout,' Kakashi gestured to them as he spoke. "Except you, Sasuke. You'll be accompanying the us as we follow the kidnapper's trail directly. If our information is right, we should meet back up at the hideout. I'll be sending one of my ninken with the other group so that you can contact me."

"And what if you're disabled, or unable to contact us back," Hanbei asked from the back of the group.

"My ninken will know if that happens, and lead you to our last location. You can pick up the trail from that point, if you're able to continue. Are there any other questions?" Kakashi watched as the group collectively shook their head.

"Good. Now, one last point. This is Chiyo, one of Suna's most respected elders." He gestured to the elderly shinobi that had been standing a short way from him. "She's going to be accompanying us for the rest of the mission, on behalf of Sunagakure."

The groups all gave their greetings with various amounts of enthusiasm, save for Hideyoshi, who simply let out a sharp huff of breath as his gaze intensified. Chiyo was quick to notice, pointing him out. "Do you have a problem, big guy?" Hideyoshi didn't respond to the prompting, turning his head away from the elderly shinobi. She just cackled, egging him on. " Don't be shy! We're all one big team here, aren't we?"

"My only em _concern_ _/em_ was that someone of your age has no place on the battlefield. A nation's duty is to care for its elders at home. And the elder's place is to accept this." At this point, Hideyoshi had returned to staring Chiyo down. "It simply seems that the Sand would have served us better by letting us work on our own, if all they could spare were em _elders._ _/em_ "

Chiyo's laughter had long since stopped at this point, the pair staring each other down. Kakashi and Yūgao were both tense, ready and waiting to jump in if things escalated much further, while the rest of the team started on, somewhat dumbstruck. Chiyo was the one to break the tension- not by jumping forwards in a murderous rage, as some expected. "Funny! Here I was, worried that when we needed help, all Konoha sent us were self important foot soldiers. It looks like we'll all have to deal with what we got."

Abruptly turning, Chiyo began walking towards the gates. "Let's get moving! I'm not going to keep my grandson waiting any longer than I have to! He always gets grumpy when someone's late, you know."

Kakashi, Yūgao, and Neji all were quick to seize on this opportunity, quickly echoing the command to move out to their respective subordinates. Within moments, the gate was almost empty in the late afternoon sun.


	13. Kisame vs The Southern Team

Amago Haruhisa found himself in a steadily worsening situation. Despite his patience, a better opportunity for escaping his pair of kidnappers had never came about. They had walked through the night to arrive at the place that Haruhisa now found himself, which turned out to be an entirely new problem in itself. .

The pair that had kidnapped his opponent, and him by proxy, had roughly deposited their prize on the floor of a massive cavern. Haruhisa had assumed that they were in a standard hideout of some sort, maybe waiting for a ransom, but then the pair had done something that made him question that. They had summoned a massive statue from a scroll. The grotesque structure now stared down at the unconscious Gaara with ten closed eyes, bound hands emerging from the earth just in front of the body, while the kidnappers lounged by the entrance. Furthermore, Haruhisa could see no exit to the cavern, with the opening that they had entered through having been covered by a boulder.

As Haruhisa started to consider the feasibility trying to fight his way out, another figure appeared in the room. A dark silhouette, faintly shimmering like an oil slick in sunlight, stood on the statue's thumb. Seconds after, another figure blinked into existence on the statue's left index finger. A third figure followed, as well as a fourth, each appearing on a different finger. As more appeared, a grinding sound echoed from behind Haruhisa's position, filling the cavern. He watched with increasing trepidation, his muscles tensing. " _It seems that this would be the time to leave-"_

"Ahh~ It's time! Sasori-danna, wake up! You don't want to be late, do you? I know how you hate that, un." Haruhisa's attention was drawn to the front of the chamber. Looking over, he saw both of the kidnappers walking towards the statue.

"Shut up. We're on time. Because the Leader knows how to not keep people waiting- unlike some of us." The shorter of the two rasped back at his partner. Ignoring his complaints, the speaker blurred, leaping to the statue's left thumb with agility not suggested by his frame. His partner followed a moment later, landing on his assigned finger.

As soon as he landed, the first of the transparent figures spoke."From this point, the sealing process will take three days and nights. Mind your real bodies during this time. Zetsu, I assume you've been keeping watch?"

"There's two groups of Konoha shinobi heading out from Suna. The Copy Ninja is leading one team, while the second is coming around from the south. It's being lead by a ANBU- Uzuki Yūgao." Another one of the projections responded.

"That team will be dangerous if we let it get too close, You can't underestimate the ANBU, after all." said a projection on the other side of the statue.

"Let me go take care of it then! I haven't been able to find my jinchuriki, so I need to work off some steam," another voice responded. From his vantage point, Haruhisa had lost track of who was speaking, as only the eyes and outlines of each projection were visible.

"Enough." said the first figure. "First, we must begin the sealing process. Then Kisame will take care of that group. You know that his chakra reserves are better suited for this job."

"I'll take care of the other team, then," responded someone on the opposite side of the statue.

The first figure nodded, and in an instant, the atmosphere in the room changed. Haruhisa dropped his hold on the sand surrounding him as the figures on the statue made a handsign in unison. The tips of all but one of the statue's fingers began to to glow with a pale blue light as he began to call on the winds in the room, a small dust storm swirling up around him and Gaara. He pushed the sand away from around his face just in time to see the statue's mouth erupt with the same blue light that surrounded its fingers. As the sand rose further, the growing howl of the storm was drowned out by a shout from the first figure that had appeared. " **Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyūfūjin!"**

Before he could push out any further, that light erupted in the form of several phantom dragons. The spectral dragons covered the distance between the statue's mouth and Gaara in a matter of seconds, expanding out to envelop Gaara and Hisahide both in a cocoon of light. HIsahide was overcome with blinding pain, screaming out in agony alongside the jinchuriki behind him, and his world went black.

* * *

A day and a half away from Suna, the southern group was still rushing through the desert. As the evening was approaching, the large group moved in relative silence, what sound there was coming from the steady hoofbeats of the three riders.

"The scent's getting stronger up here," said Pakkun, keeping pace with Yūgao at the head of the pack of shinobi. Taking a few large sniffs, his eyes widened. "Someone's coming!"

Upon hearing that from the ninken, Yūgao immediately began to focus her chakra, attuning her energy to any other chakra sources in the area. Seconds later, her free hand snapped up to her radio. "Large chakra signature rapidly approaching at six o'clock. Be ready!"

The two teams looked back to see a cloud of dust and rocks rapidly growing as it approached. They quickly scattered backwards as the cloud reached the group. The three on horseback yanked their reins backwards, barely getting their mounts to rear back away from the sudden attack in time. As the dust settled, all eyes focused on the black robed figure standing at the center of the cloud. He smirked, baring sharpened teeth. "Let's get started," Kisame stated, his voice carrying across the battlefield. With that declaration, he threw his sword straight up into the air and began a sequence of hand seals.

"Yukimura! Get the horses out of here!" Neji shouted down from the top of the rock formation that he had leapt to. Hanbei and Hideyoshi both smoothly dismounted, leaving Yukimura to grab their reins. With a shout, Yukimura started to gallop away from the Akatsuki member.

Before Yukimura could take the horses more than a few feet away, Kisame reared back before letting loose a surging wall of water from his mouth. Disappearing in the white spray, the Akatsuki member appeared at the top of the wave, looking down at his opponents. He reached back, catching Samehada just before the water began to collapse down over the wasteland.

As the newly formed sea bore down on the fleeing horseman, Hideyoshi stepped in front of the oncoming water. His crimson aura flaring to life, he drew back his fist and set his feet. Just as the first crest of the wave was about to break over him, he struck, punching down towards the ground. The resultant shockwave expanded with such force that the rest of Hideyoshi's teammates had to brace themselves to remain standing in the face of the pressure. The water itself seemed to stop for a solid moment, with the first portion of the wave spraying back upwards in a sheer arc. The rest of the mass shuddered before reversing direction, pouring out over the wasteland in every direction except towards Hideyoshi.

Kisame reacted quickly to the sudden loss of momentum, quickly stepping backwards along the rushing water so that he could stay in place. As he did so, he reached out with his free hand, touching the water spraying up from the impact. " **Suiton: Amesuihōka,"** Kisame shouted over the roar of crashing water. Pushing his chakra out into the spray, the droplets began to form into minuscule sharks even as they fell back towards the Leaf shinobi.

As the first of these droplets rained down over Hideyoshi, he suddenly felt rivulets of blood running down his face. Glancing to the side, his suspicions were confirmed as he saw one of the sharks tear through the fabric over his shoulder guard. He quickly took a deep breath, before leaning back and letting it out as a roar. Waves of the tiny sharks slammed into the dome of pressure formed by Hideyoshi's shout, dissipating into a harmless mist.

The rain of sharks forced the rest of the team into similar defensive positions. Seconds before the first droplets had hit Hideyoshi, Hanbei had already released his sword. With one motion, he set the whip like blade to rotate around him, scattering the falling water. Up with the shinobi, Tenten had unsealed a metal umbrella to shield herself from the tearing rain, while Neji had much the same idea as Hanbei. Dashing forwards, he grabbed Yūgao by the shoulder and twisted into a tight spin as he began a Kaiten. The pair were quickly covered by the shimming dome of chakra. From the outside the dome seemed to flicker, as a large unshielded area rapidly spun around the center, but the rotation was more than enough to evaporate the rain around the pair.

When the rotation began to slow, Yūgao tightened her grip on Neji's shoulder, before kicking out. Using the momentum of the kaiten, and Neji's body as grounding, she launched herself from the dissipating shell into the path of Kisame's sword. Unsheathing her own blade in flight, Yūgao intercepted Samehada, locking blades with Kisame. Rolling her blade to the side, she pulled Kisame's own momentum against him, kicking up at his side. Kisame blocked the blow easily, shifting his sword arm down, but the force was enough to take the pair back to where Kisame had leapt from.

Landing lightly on the surface of the water, Yūgoa faced down the Akatsuki member. "Kisame of the Hidden Mist."

Kisame grinned, shifting his grip on Samehada. "It's always nice to be recognized so far from home."

"I'm surprised. I would have thought even a monster like you would know when the odds were against him." Yūgao challenged, glaring at her opponent.

Kisame's grin just widened as he responded. "Is that so? Well, I would have to see that happen to know for sure."

"You think too highly of yourself!" Spat Yūgao. "You're outnumbered. Just tell us what you've done with the Kazekage, and we'll make this quick."

"Now, you're just asking to get sliced up," Kisame laughed. "But are you so sure about your team?"

A sliver of movement behind Yūgao drew her attention for a second. Looking over her shoulder, she saw half a dozen black robed clones rising up from the water around the Leaf shinobi. When she looked back at Kisame, she had just enough time to raise her sword and block the vicious swing aimed at her side. Leaping off the water to blunt the blow, she skidded out of the way, sliding back into a ready stance. Yugao brought her sword around in a circle in front of her, light gleaming off the blade, while brought his free hand up in a seal.

" **Oborozukiyo** ," Yūgao shouted, while Kisame's own cry of " **Kirigakure no Jutsu** " followed only moments later. The water below the pair rose upwards as a thick mist even as Yūgao streaked forwards, trailed by faint afterimages. Seconds later, the only thing that could be heard from the cloud was the sound of sword striking sword.

* * *

As the top of the rapidly collapsing wall of water burst into mist, the rest of the Konoha team was concerned with their own opponents. The first group of Kisame clones materialized just behind Hideyoshi. Two of the clones moved to attack Hideyoshi, while the others turned to pursue Yukimura. Snapping his sword back to its natural state, Hanbei lunged towards the first passing clone. It easily sidestepped the off target stab, only to be caught as the blade extended back into a whip, wound around a nearby boulder, and came back from the other direction to sweep out its ankle.

Behind Hanbei, two clones brought their copies of Samehada down towards Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi reached back, deflecting one Samehada by striking the flat of the blade. The metal of his gauntlet groaned as the sword spun out of Kisame's grip, splattering into water as it hit the ground. With his other hand, Hideyoshi reached under the incoming sword to grab the clone by the shoulder. Twisting around, he hurled the clone at the Kisame that had started after the horses. Both clones went sprawling as they collided, the one that was struck bursting into water as it slammed into the ground.

As Hideyoshi turned back to focus on the other clone, he felt a sudden rush of water spread across his back. Moments later, he was floating in the center of a sphere of water, staring at Kisame's grinning face.

"I never thought I'd come across another one of you monsters so soon. Still, let's see what you can do without any leverage," Kisame said, trailing off with a chuckle. In response, Hideyoshi crossed his arms stoically, shooting a look to the side, where Hanbei was fighting with his own water clone.

* * *

Up on one of the short plateaus that dotted this part of the desert, Neji and Tenten faced their own pitched battle. As soon Kisame's clones had materialized from the water roaring beside the plateau, they had gone on the offensive. The first clone that formed rushed Tenten, bringing Samehada across in a wide horizontal sweep. Leaping back, she deflected the brunt of the blow with the iron umbrella that she had previously summoned. Snapping the umbrella closed, she leapt backwards, keeping just out of reach of the clones continued assault. As one swing left Kisame overextended, she slid forwards. Switching a hidden release on the umbrella, she tossed it up. Snapping open, the umbrella began to pour a rain of senbon down over the clone's immediate area. With a hiss, it lifted its arm over its head to ward off the worst of the flurry as it quickly stepped back out of range.

" **Hakke Kūshō!** " The clone's head barely had time to snap to look over at Neji before a wave of air slammed into its side, blowing it off of its feet. The clone skidded heavily across the rocky plateau, barely regaining its footing as it came to a stop. As it slid the final few feet, the clone turned to look at the source of a small hissing noise at its feet. Looking down, the clone saw a kunai studded ball with a quickly burning tag on the front. Moments later, Tenten's explosive device detonated in a hail of shrapnel, obscuring the area. Scanning the area, Neji saw the twisted remains of Tenten's umbrella lying on the ground where the clone had been .

Neji twisted back around, even as the clone was dropping out of the air towards him. He flipped back away as the clone brought his sword down in a downwards slam, hands coming back up to deflect the follow up attacks. The clone rushed forwards, swinging Samehada in wide, reckless arcs as Neji wove his way around them. As one strike went high, passing over his head, Neji spun back under him, striking out at his unprotected flank. As Neji's hand brushed the clone's ribcage, it reversed directions with stunning speed, slamming its elbow into the side of Neji's head. Neji spun back with the blow, driving the palm of his other hand into the clone's upper arm.

The clone pushed back through the palm strike, bringing Samehada back out at Neji in another wide swing. Leaping backwards, Neji looked to put himself a safe distance away from the clone. As Neji landed, howelver, he realized that he had miscalculated. Finishing the swing, the clone's free hand was forming a single handseal. Three waves of water rose from the ground in the wake of Samehada's swing, rapidly closing the distance to Neji. He could only cross his arms at the last second, channeling chakra to blunt the impact and adhere to the ground as the waist high water crashed into him.

Keeping his eyes open through the spray of water, he saw the two clones rushing at him through the wave's wake. Both clones had their swords drawn back, one clearly aiming for his legs, the other for his head. As he prepared to move, the clone aiming for his head suddenly staggered backwards as a kunai caught it square in the chest before exploding. At the same time, Neji released the chakra binding him to the ground, leaping forwards at the other clone. As that clone began its swing, Neji pushed off of its Samehada, gaining more height. At the apex of his jump, Neji was inverted over the water clone.

" **Hakke Kūshō!"** Neji shouted, striking downwards. The first blast of air staggered the clone, opening it up for the second, stronger blast as Neji thrust both of his arms down towards the clone. The follow up knocked the clone into the ground hard enough that it bounced back up. As the clone approached Neji's rapidly falling position, the Hyūga began to spin. " **Kaiten!"** Caught on the edge of Neji's rotation, the clone was torn to pieces by the fast spinning shell of chakra. Neji landed, and looked over to where Tenten was fending off the other clone with a pair of short curved blades. Moments later, he was moving to continue the fight.

* * *

Below the Leaf shinobi, Hanbei scowled, watching one of Kisame's clones get back to its feet and continue after Yukimura's trail. This was quickly followed by a spinning backstep, as Hanbei moved out of the way of a horizontal slash that the other clone he was facing aimed towards his chest. As it brought its copy of Samehada up and back towards him, he stepped into to retaliate. Hanbei stabbed downwards, striking the center of his opponents blade and pushing it down into the ground. Before the clone could bring it weapon back up, he pulled back before unleashing a rapid series of cuts at the clone.

It vanished in a splash of water, leaving a large stone to bear the brunt of Hanbei's attack. His brightly flashing blade cut through the stone several times before it unfurled into a whip. Wrapping the flexible blade around the broken rock, Hanbei dodged to the side again, pivoting around to fling the stone shards back at the clone now coming at him from behind. The clone raised its arm to block the debris before barreling forwards towards Hanbei, water spraying up from the ground as it made a wave to ride. Hanbei leapt backwards, stabbing forwards as he did so. As his sword shot out, the clone abandoned his swing, bring up his sword like a shield.

The clone covered the remaining distance in moments. As Hanbei attempted to step back out of the way again, the clone brought out its free arm in a devastating punch, catching him right under the ribcage. He staggered back, sliding his sword back before stabbing forwards again. The clone stepped to the side as he drew his sword, grinning as Hanbei's extending blade shot wide. This confidence was quickly shaken, as Hanbei gave a self contented smile of his own in return, and his outstretched blade went taut.

The clone looked back over his shoulder at where the blade had gone, only to see Hideyoshi floating at the center of his water prison, the end of Hanbei's whip sword wrapped around his hand. Twisting around in his prison, he brought his arm around twice, gathering momentum, before throwing his strength behind a third rotation. Hanbei was pulled off of his feet by the force, though he kept the attack stable by running in tandem with the rotation. The clone that held the water prison around Hideyoshi quickly abandoned his jutsu, jumping back and over the spinning blade. The clone that Hanbei had been directly fighting was not so lucky, as it was neatly bisected.

The remaining clone landed on the slight slope of water that was still flowing towards Hideyoshi and began a series of handseals. It immediately found itself having to dodge again, as Hideyoshi grabbed one of the slimmer rock outcroppings near him, pulled it from the ground, and hurled it at the clone in a single fluid motion. Hands locked into the final seal of the string, it began to shout the name of its technique, only to dissipate in a harsh spray as Hanbei's sword shot through its chest. The pair looked at each other, having successfully finished off the final clone, then up at the fog shrouding the top of the collapsing hill of water.

* * *

While Kisame occupied the rest of the team in their own individual battles, Yukimura was caught up in a very different struggle. Reins clutched tight in his fists, he blinked the rising dust out of his eyes as he looked back over his shoulder. There, no more than five horse lengths behind him, was the tip of Kisame's sword, cutting across the ground like a shark's fin above the water. " _He hasn't slowed! And at this rate, the horses will be too exhausted to continue without prolonged rest! And yet, if I turn back, I cannot fight and protect them! What should I do? What would Lord Shingen do?!"_

"You should just stop running, little fish!" While Yukimura was thinking, the Akatsuki member's face had risen above the ground as well. "All prey try the same thing, but it never works. You can't outlast a predator!"

" _All prey… That's it!"_ Yukimura's eyes narrowed as his grip on the reins tightened once more. With a hard jerk, he redirected the team of horses towards a large crevice that lead through a large stone outcropping. "I was given this task by my treasured comrades! To think that I would be swayed over cheap taunts is the height of conceit!" Urging the horses to accelerate, he called out behind him.

Seconds later, Yukimura was riding in the shadows of the broken stone. His eyes contracted, suddenly adjusting to the dim light of the crevice. This momentary shift of vision almost cost him his life, as a sudden rustle of cloth drew his attention to the figure above him. Without hesitation, he leapt from his horse, both spears held at the ready to intercept Kisame's overhead blow. The pair collided in mid air, the sound of the collision echoing up and down the cavern.

"Conceit?" Kisame locked eyes with Yukimura as the pair hung in the air, grinning wildly. "It seems that it worked to me!' Kisame almost shouted as they began to fall.

A second shockwave spread through the crevice as they impacted the ground, KIsame's initial attack bolstered by momentum of the fall. Despite the added strength, Yukimura's guard held firm. He quickly pushed KIsame's sword off of his spears, stepping back. "You're mistaken! In fact, you gave me the key to your defeat," Yukimura shouted back.

Kisame just smirked. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"I never needed to outthink you," Yukimura grinned, pointing one of his spears at his opponent. "All I needed was to outthink a horse!"

Kisame's only response was to fix him with a flat stare. An uncomfortable silence hung between them for several long seconds, until the Akatsuki member broke it with a flat "What."

"Prey naturally flee from danger! So, the horses did not need me to lead them away from you! In fact, all that falls to me is to round them up once you have been taken care of," Yukimura answered, undeterred by the pause in conversation.

Kisame's eyes narrowed, thinking back to his initial strike. " _There was only one horse, wasn't there… He must have released the others just before the crevice."_ A grin crept back over his face. "Well, I admit, you've surprised me! But-" Kisame's grin became decidedly more sinister as he hefted his sword back up onto his shoulder."-What makes you so sure that you can take care of me at all?!"

"Simple! If I were to fail here, I could never show my face before Oyakata-sama again!" As he spoke, Yukimura shifted into a ready stance, bringing up both his spears as a fiery red aura began to flicker to life around him, lighting the dim crevice walls. "Now, I, Sanada Genjiro Yukimura will be your opponent! Let us have a fair fight!"

* * *

 **Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyūfūjin-** Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals

 **S** **uiton: Amesuihōka-** Water Release: Rain Water Shark Wave

 **Oborozukiyo-** Hazy Moon Night

 **Kirigakure no Jutsu-** Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique

 **Hakke Kūshō-** Eight Trigrams Air Palm


	14. Itachi vs The Northern Team

Just inside the border of the Land of Rivers, Kakashi's team hurried through the forest. The shinobi leapt from tree branch to tree branch, faces set in grim determination, while Ieyasu kept pace on horseback below. For most of their journey, the group traveled in silence, with only quick bursts of conversation about changing terrain or possible ambush sites. On the second day of travel, after some five hours of this pace, Sakura was the first to speak up about something past that.

"I've been meaning to ask, but what's the story behind your name, Sarutobi-san?" Asked Sakura.

"Because of your old teammate, right?" Sasuke responded, without looking back at Sakura.

"N-no, not in particular! I was just curious…" Blushing, Sakura quickly responded, before letting her reply trail off. "How did you know?"

Sasuke chuckled softly. "More than a few people in Konoha reacted pretty strongly when I introduced myself. After I heard the three of you say the name a few times, I put it together." Looking back over his shoulder, he gave a small smirk to Sakura. "But, if you want to know, there's no problem."

Sakura just nodded her head, and Sasuke settled back into his rhythm as they moved through the trees. "Back where I'm from, on Togakushi Mountain, there used to live a happy little clan of monkeys. Of this clan, there would always be one Sasuke- the strongest, smartest monkey of them all."

Sasuke's voice shifted as he talked, losing the carefree edge that it always carried. "All of the monkeys wanted that name, because it would mean that they were important, that they were on top of the pack. And so, they did what all monkeys do, and fought over it. And when they couldn't fight over it anymore, they made the little monkeys fight over it, even when they didn't understand it."

An oppressive feeling began to fill the forest air, a growing amount of killing intent that set the shinobi's nerves on edge. "Then, one day, something happened. When all of the people around the mountain came to take a look, they found a mountain of monkey corpses. In this mountain, there was one monkey who was unscathed, bowing his blood smeared head. By elimination, what do you suppose that monkey's name would be?"

Silence hung over the group as they continued on, enduring the thickening killing intent. After a minute had passed, the intent vanished without a trace as Sasuke spoke up again. "Or perhaps I was named after my great-grandfather? I always forget which way it actually happened!"

Sasuke broke off with a bright laugh, leaving his traveling companions to give their own uncomfortable chuckles. These quickly came to an end as Kakashi loudly barked an order for the group to come to a stop. Immediately, the shinobi dropped from the tree branches they had been running on, landing at the edge of a wide clearing. Ieyasu quickly arrived next to them, reining in his horse. In the center of the clearing, facing the Konoha team, was a lone man in a black cloak emblazoned with red clouds.

"Running into him already… Itachi Uchiha," Kakashi said in a low voice. The other shinobi tensed at the mention of the infamous Uchiha's name, Sakura softly gasping. Sasuke and Ieyasu looked to their comrades quickly before reading themselves up.

"Long time no see, Kakashi and Naruto." Itachi addressed the pair, ignoring the deepening scowls on their faces.

"I take it that he's someone with a reputation?" Sasuke quipped, his light tone barely covering the serious undertone of the question.

"He's the boy that killed his entire clan in one night," Chiyo answered. "I'm surprised that somebody from Konoha hadn't heard of him!"

"Well, I've always been terrible at keeping up with local news." Sasuke joked before being cut off by Kakashi.

"Everyone, avoid eye contact! It's dangerous!" Kakashi called out, still not letting the rogue Uchiha slip out of his sight.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Asked Sakura.

"Watch his footwork and predict his movements. He specializes in ocular genjutsu, so as long as you don't meet his eyes, you should be fine." Kakashi replied.

"Well then, should we break through? Our target is waiting for us, after all." Sasuke asked, beginning to slowly move into the clearing, twin shuriken drawn and ready.

"Our time is growing short. So, Naruto, I'll be taking you back now." Itachi spoke, lifting his finger to point at Naruto as he did so. As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto went rigid, pupils shrinking as his body locked up.

Kakashi immediately rushed forwards, beginning a series of hand seals. "Chiyo, Sakura, Ieyasu! Stay back and guard Naruto! Sasuke, with me!."

"Already on it!" Kakashi looked to the side to see Sasuke keeping pace.

Leaping up, Kakashi shouted " **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"** Spitting downwards, a torrent of water spewed out of his mouth down towards Itachi. The Uchiha dodged out of the way, leaping backwards, only to have to dodge one of Sasuke's shuriken as well after it cut through the spray of water. Sasuke followed his weapon through the last drops of Kakashi's jutsu, throwing his second shuriken as he pulled the first back. Itachi wove out of the path of the second as easily as the first as he rushed in towards Sasuke.

Sasuke was within close combat range with Itachi in seconds. He began a swipe towards Itachi's chest with the shuriken that he had pulled back to his hand, only for Itachi to intercept his arm. With one arm pinned, Sasuke pulled back with his other hand, reeling in his other shuriken. Before it could make it back to his hand, Itachi turned sideways, getting leverage to drive a leg straight into Sasuke's stomach. Eyes widening in shock, he reeled, spitting up phlegm. Shifting back on one foot, Sasuke looked up for a moment, only to find himself staring into Itachi's spinning sharingan.

Before he could blink, Sasuke found himself hanging upside down under a pitch black sky. The wrappings around his arms were steel, with hundreds of long spikes piercing into him. His attention was quickly taken by the large pool of bubbling black liquid that he was hanging over- the vapor alone was hot enough to start singeing his face.

From the shore of the pool, Itachi looked Sasuke in the eye. "You're not bad. But, I'll have you go to sleep here…"

Sasuke's bindings shifted suddenly, and he felt himself dropping down towards the pool. Sweat rapidly beading on his brow, blood running down his back, he still shot Itachi a cocky grin before he hit the surface. "This is some illusion… But, don't get so caught up in the mist that you miss the cliff, yeah?"

Itachi's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at that, and even as Sasuke started to touch the boiling pitch he severed the illusion. Snapping back to the real world, he saw the man he had trapped in the genjutsu dissipation in a cloud of black smoke, while two identical copies leapt at him from the treeline on either side of him. Both Sasukes swept their shuriken forwards in wide arcs. One pair spun directly towards Itachi, while the other split so that one shuriken would pass above and below the other clone's attack. Itachi leapt, twisting to fit in the narrow space between two of the shuriken.

As he landed, Itachi was immediately faced by the Sasuke that had been on his right. He leaned back out of the way of a quick kick, following that by pivoting out of the way of one of the shuriken that was reeling back into Sasuke's hand. Sasuke pressed the attack, coming after Itachi with a series of quick slashes aimed at his torso. Itachi slipped away from the first couple, before again catching Sasuke's arm. This time, his rhythm was disrupted as a pure black outline of Sasuke materialized in the air above his arm. This silhouette shot a kick at Itachi's face, forcing him to let go of Sasuke's arm to block the strike, before it vanished back into the ether.

Sasuke again continued the offensive, sweeping his leg out. Itachi leapt over the attack, only for another silhouette to materialize and catch him in the shoulder with what looked like a shadowy kunai. A heartbeat after the attack struck home, a second silhouette appeared on the opposite side and struck Itachi in the collarbone with a powerful kick. Itachi staggered backwards for a moment, sparing a glance over his shoulder at the other Sasuke rapidly approaching behind him. He then moved forwards again, sliding under the horizontal slash that Sasuke sent his way and the silhouette that began to materialize.

Spinning around to face the way he came, Itachi's hands reached down into his shuriken pouch, and he sent a flurry of the projectiles at the Sasuke that had yet to reach him. That copy came to an abrupt halt, quickly moving its shuriken in front of it to block the attack. The Sasuke that Itachi had been directly fighting also sought to gain some room, pivoting around to throw one of its shuriken back down at Itachi even as started to leap back away.

For a brief second, Itachi moved faster, reaching out to grab Sasuke's shoulder even as he leapt over his head. Sasuke's shuriken harmlessly crashed into the ground as the pair twisted in the air, Itachi's free hand beginning to form seals. He came down hard on the other side, twisting to harness Sasuke's own momentum as he sent the man flying back towards the treeline with a throw. Turning his head back towards the other Sasuke, Itachi brought his other hand up to finish the seal sequence that he had begun. Bringing one hand up to his mouth, he called out " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** before spitting a massive ball of fire.

Sasuke leapt over the attack, reaching up at the apex of his jump to grip the talon of a large hawk made of shadow, which materialized even as he was reaching up. Using this, he hung in the air as the fireball passed below him. As soon as the fire passed his legs, Sasuke let go of the shadow bird, letting it dematerialize as well. Before he could fall, he threw one of his shuriken down towards Itachi. Itachi moved to jump away, but before he could move, the ground behind him erupted, Kakashi already grabbing him in a full nelson. Seconds later, the shuriken hit, tearing through Itachi and Kakashi both. Kakashi vanished in a cloud of smoke, while Itachi dropped to his knees. Sasuke landed, quickly dashed forwards and slashed the Uchiha's throat with his other shuriken.

Itachi's body dropped to the ground, and Sasuke stepped back, guard still up. The other Sasuke began to walk over towards him as well, and was quickly joined by the real Kakashi. Sasuke waved at the other shinobi as he approached. "Thanks for the assist there!"

Kakashi just waved it off as he approached. At this point, the rest of the team was beginning to move towards them as well. Naruto reached Sasuke before any of his teammates, jogging out in front. "It's over already?!"

"Well, maybe he just forgot to put up his guard at that last moment?" Sasuke shrugged before leaning down to inspect the corpse in more detail.

"Now, I'm not an expert on this guy-" Sasuke paused, looking up to Kakashi and Chiyo. "But did he always look like this?"

The team looked down at the corpse, the face of which had changed significantly to reveal a man with a sharp goatee and high cheekbones. Chiyo inhaled sharply as she looked down at the body. "...It can't be."

"You know him?" Kakashi asked, looking over at her.

Chiyo nodded. "That's Yura, a jonin from our village."

"So, this was an imposter of some kind then…" Ieyasu added, rubbing his chin in thought.

"No. That last jutsu he used was a signature move of the Uchiha, and I could tell it was legitimate even from where I was." Kakashi shook his head.

"Well… I guess it's a mystery! Maybe we'll find out more once we reach that hideout?" Sasuke leaned back away from Yura's body, stretching his arms.

Kakashi nodded, looking back at the team. "You're right. Let's keep moving. Whatever this was, if they're trying to delay us, we're getting close."

With a sharp nod, the rest of the team leapt back to the trees as they continued onwards, with Ieyasu following along on horseback.

* * *

In the desert to the south, the sound of blows rang like thunder cracks through the barren rocks. In the shadow of one cracked plateau, Kisame came flying out of the cleft in the stone, hotly pursued by a glowing red Yukimura. Kisame flipped in the air, sliding across the ground as he drew his sword up just in time to block a spear whipping towards his side. Yukimura stopped for a second as his attack was blocked, twisting his second spear to stab at Kisame's unprotected side. Kisame grinned, twisting slightly away from the attack before grabbing the spear right behind the head with his free hand, which immediately began to smoke from the contact. Kisame stepped forwards, bringing his head down in a crushing headbutt.

Yukimura grit his teeth, sliding back slightly under the force of the blow. Gathering himself, he began to twist, spinning around towards his trapped spear. The rotation was strong enough to pull Kisame off his as he was dragged along by the spear he was holding. Kisame quickly let go, again flying backwards across the desert. Catching himself, he stood back up, forming his hand into a hare sign next to his mouth. " **Suiton: Mizurappa!"**

A stream of water shot back towards Yukimura, who braced himself. Rapidly spinning one of his spears in his hand, he held the spinning weapon forwards like a shield. The water crashed against it, spraying outwards in every direction as it was deflected by the maneuver. There was a deafening hiss as a large amount of the water evaporated into a cloud of steam as it made contact with Yukimura's aura. As the pressure dropped, Yukimura stopped spinning his spear, looking around the cloud of steam that formed. He took a step forward, ready to rush out, when a figure materialized out of the steam next to him.

Kisame slammed Samehada up into Yukimura's side. He was carried along with the sword as Kisame brought it over his head before slamming him down into the ground on the other side. Wincing, Yukimura swung a spear around to catch Kisame in the leg. Feeling his femur almost snap under the impact, Kisame leapt back before he could take a second blow. As he landed, he immediately had to duck to the side to avoid a spear hurtling at his chest.

Following the spear that he had just thrown, Yukimura dashed in to bury a crippling uppercut in Kisame's gut. Gritting his teeth to keep a spurt of of blood from leaving his mouth, Kisame grasped Samehada with both hands, bringing the hilt of his sword straight down into Yukimura's back. Ignoring the soft crack that followed the blow, Yukimura backed up a step, planting his spear into the ground. Using the spear as support, he threw his body up into a full dropkick.

Kisame spun Samehada around to block the brunt of the blow, but the force still staggered him. Reeling back, his guard dropped just enough for Yukimura's flaming fist to crash into his face. Yukimura's follow up punch was enough to blow Kisame off of his feet again, sending him flying backwards. Dashing forwards, collecting both of spears as he passed them, Yukimura pursued KIsame.

Kisame again stabilized himself, landing on his feet. His face immediately twisted into a snarl as he dropped to one knee, the microfractures in his leg growing into a full break from the force of the landing. Yukimura bore down on him a second later, blazing spears drawn back. Kisame tried to block the incoming attack, but one of Yukimura's spears swept over his his guard, throwing him up into the air.

Yukimura leapt after Kisame, streaking upwards in a crimson blaze. " **Rekka!"** Kisame brought Samehada up as a shield once more as Yukimura began to send a barrage of fierce blows upwards. Kisame's grip began to falter under the storm of spear thrusts, finally giving out and deflecting to the side. In the split second that Kisame's guard opened, Yukimura paused his attack, aura flaring to new heights. " _ **Dairekka!**_ " Yukimura's barrage began anew, the tips of his spears glowing white hot from the speed and force of the blows. Kisame was battered by repeated strikes, coughing blood as his body gave out.

After a half a minute of continuous attacks, Yukimura drew both of his spears back together and brought them down on Kisame's back. The pair fell like a meteor, Yukimura's aura casting harsh shadows on the surrounding desert. A plume of dust and rock shot up from the point of the their impact, spraying debris into the sky. When the dust cleared slightly, Yukimura leapt back from the center of the small crater. Looking back down at the crater, he saw a broken body laying half buried in the rocks. He stared at the corpse for several seconds, watching to see if would move again.

" _...Did he always look like that?"_ Yukimura's brows creased in thought for a second, before his eyes suddenly widened. " _The horses!"_ Without further contemplation, he was off to recollect the horses. Ten minutes later, the southern team was on the move once again, heading towards the Akatsuki hideout.

* * *

Far away, in some remote location, Kisame opened his eyes with a grimace. "You've finished as well?" He heard Itachi ask from behind him.

"Yeah. I suppose that's all that the substitute could handle." Kisame responded.

"It was still enough to delay them." Itachi answered, voice flat as always.

"Yeah, yeah. Still, I would have liked to play with them a bit longer…" Kisame trailed off, a grin spreading across his face. "Sanada Yukimura. Now that's a name that's worth remembering.

* * *

Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Bullet Technique

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu- Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Suiton: Mizurappa- Water Release: Raging Waves

Rekka- Raging Flame

Dairekka- Great Raging Flame

* * *

Well, it's been a bit longer than usual! I still haven't abandoned this- just been dealing with computer problems (and a bit of writers block). But, we're back on track now! As usual, I hope you enjoy the chapter!


	15. Desert Memories

Cold. Gaara was no stranger to the feeling as a native of the Land of Wind's harsh climate, but he couldn't remember a time where he had experienced such absolute cold. Suppressing a shiver, he looked around the barren plain that he found himself standing on.

Gaara surveyed the empty horizon, seeing nothing but grey skies. With nothing else to do, he began to walk forwards, aimlessly. He walked for what felt like hours, with the cracks in the dry ground being the only things to change. Eventually, something began to change. Trees rose from the ground alongside Gaara, forming into an avenue. Walking down the center of the path, he registered somewhere in the back of his consciousness that these trees were wrong- towering imitations of real plants roughly shaped from worn sandstone.

This paled before the sight before him. A towering gate, gently lit like a photograph of a happier time stood at the end of the path of trees, silently waiting. Gaara continued forwards, the gate looming larger and larger as he approached. At the threshold, the gate shimmered like a mirage before he could step through. The golden tones of a fading summer day passed away, paling into the thin greys of a dying fire's smoke. The view through the gate vanished entirely, transforming into a black void as Gaara stepped through.

Looking back over his shoulder, Gaara could only see a pale square of light, a great distance away. So, he continued forwards. Eventually, he saw another patch of light in the direction that he had been traveling. Passing through the veil, he emerged to an arena. More than ever before, the silence struck Gaara like a slap in the face, and almost palpable _lacking_ of something that should be there. The stands were full of passionate faces that all began to blur into one another, creating a haze. The crowd didn't move like it should, instead shuddering in large waves waved passed through the figures like wind through grass.

Dominating Gaara's view was the shape in the center of the arena. A silhouette of a man, crouched low to the ground stood in the absolute center of the empty field. White bolts of lightning wreathed the silhouette, hanging frozen in the air like the bolts of a terrifying tree. Gaara blinked, and when his eyes opened again, he saw the silhouette's arm buried in his chest. In that moment, Gaara felt his heart pounding, dimly realizing that he hadn't felt it move in far too long. The world went grey, or maybe it had been the entire time, as he focused on the only two colours in the world. The bright blue of the lightning and the vibrant red of his own blood battled for dominance, staining the world with their intensity.

The chill in Gaara's bones deepened, and the arena twisted, the crowd shifting into the dense foliage of a forest in a second. The silhouette vanished, replaced by the indistinct form of an familiar stranger. Gaara felt like his mind refused to process the shape in front of him, only translating snippets of his form. The result was a pastiche of features that refused to resolve into a person- a bright smile, the shock of yellow hair, the overwhelming orange of a jacket. The figure still had his hand on Gaara's chest, but instead of piercing into it like a spear, it lay flat on his chest. The touch sent an indescribable agony shooting through him, his thoughts struggling to form. " _Who… Was this?"_

" _How did I get here?"_ Gaara turned around, craning his neck up to look at the clay building that had appeared behind him. He stepped forwards, passing between the thick iron bars that filled the structure's one wide door. Once inside, he scanned the walls, looking over the ornate pictures and geometric patterns that told some forgotten story.

" _Why does this feel… So familiar?"_ Gaara kept searching the pictograms for some sort of meaning even as cracks began to form, radiating across the building. The structure began to collapse inwards on itself, chunks breaking free and falling towards the ground in eerie silence. Gaara didn't react to the collapse, even as the falling debris dissipated into clouds of dust.

After what felt like an eternity, Gaara was again standing in the same barren plain that he had started in, under a pure white sky. As he watched, the horizon began to creep closer, the edge of the sky being obscured by clouds of dust. As the ground under his feet began to crumble away into nothingness as well, Gaara's attention was taken by his hand. " _Who's hand is this? Ah… It's mine."_

The image of the arena and the forest flashed back in Gaara's mind again, rapidly fading out of focus. " _Was it a weapon?"_ Without thinking, he placed his hand on his chest. " _Or was it able to become something that could support others?"_

Gaara looked up again, seeing a new figure. " _Is that… Me?"_ It was fuzzy, and moved fitfully, reaching out as if it was falling from a great height. " _No…"_ Staring at it, Gaara felt that pain in his chest ring out again. Reaching out, he stretched out his hand and caught the figure, locking his hand in its.

* * *

The previous night, Kakashi's team had set up a simple camp. The group sat in silence around the small campfire that Kakashi had started, staring into the flames. Off to the side, gazing up into the stars as he leaned back against a tree, Sasuke spoke up. "So, what exactly is this extraction that we're trying to prevent?"

"Presumably, they're attempting to make a new jinchūriki using the Ichibi, Shukaku." Chiyo answered without looking up.

Sakura looked over at the elder. "A new Jinchūriki… Why would they do that?"

Chiyo looked up to look her in the eyes. "Each Tailed Beast holds tremendous power- power that people have been trying to bolster their military might for generations. The only way that the power could be somewhat controlled, however, is through sealing the beast in a human host."

"If these things have so much power, shouldn't their extraction pretty complicated as well? After all, how do you take one out of a host?" Ieyasu spoke up from where he had been attentively watching the conversation.

Chiyo nodded, breaking eye contact to look back into the fire. "You're right, the extraction process is long and complicated. The performers must unravel the beast's chakra from the living host's and separate the two."

Sakura processed what she was saying for a moment before interrupting. "Untangle- Wait, doesn't that mean that-"

"Yes. The former host will die." Chiyo closed her eyes. "Both of Shukaku's former jinchūriki met the same fate when it was extracted from them."

Naruto looked up over the fire, smiling broadly as he caught Sakura's attention. "Don't worry. I'll save Gaara!"

She shook her head, tears beginning to brim in the corners of her eyes. "It's not him that I'm worried about!"

Ieyasu cut in with a sharp nod. "It's the both of you. We don't want to see either of you suffering like that."

"Well, let's focus on one thing at a time." Sasuke stepped away from his resting spot, moving towards the tent. "We can't save anyone if we don't actually get some rest." Sasuke was backed up by Kakashi and Chiyo, both of whom gave a short nod as they began their final preparations for the night. Minutes later, the team was asleep in their shelters, save for the night watch.

* * *

Magoichi squinted, focusing on the star chart in her hands as the dim light from her fire wavered in a faint breeze. She looked up at the sky, then back down at the chart, then back up at the sky. This was repeated several times before she let out a huff, testilly rolling up the chart and shoving it back into its lacquered case.

"Almost nothing." She muttered to herself, stoking the fire. "Even the stars are unfamiliar…"

Stifling a curse before she yelled it out into the wilderness, Magoichi hurled the stick that she had been using to tend the fire backwards into the river valley behind her. She closed her eyes, listening to the clatter as it fell the long way down to the water below. " _I've got a day left- two at most. If i can't find a more stable situation by then, I'll be out of options."_

Sighing, she ran her hand down her face, turning back to her makeshift shelter. The fire faltered as she walked past, collapsing further into itself as she slumped back into the lean-to. She closed her eyes, trying to center herself as she listened to the soft sounds of wildlife echoing around her. As she focused, her thoughts began to drift, taking her back to when she was young.

" _... And that one right there is called Hokushin." Magoichi pointed straight up, guiding the young Sayaka's gaze to the star in question. "As long as you can see that star, you'll always be able to find North."_

 _Sayaka gave a firm nod, not looking away from the sky. Magoichi looked down at her, smiling softly. "There's no more important star out here when you're trying to survive, but did you know that if you look at enough of the others, you can tell the future?"_

 _Nose wrinkling up into a frown, Sayaka shook her head. "That's stupid."_

 _Magoichi recoiled in mock surprise, holding a hand over his heart. "I'm serious!" Sayaka didn't respond to the display, just shaking her head while she looked up at the stars. Magoichi sighed softly. "Well, if you don't believe me, let me tell you a story."_

" _Back when my father was young, he lived in a poor village. One year, the harvest was even smaller than usual. He didn't want to be a burden for those around him, and so one night, under only the light of the stars, he left to go join a monastery. He settled in there, and began to make a life for himself. Unfortunately, the harvest was bad all across the region, and so the Lord demanded that more rice be brought to him. A band of his men showed up at the gates of the monastery."_

" _Send out your food, or we'll burn this place to the ground!" Sayaka jumped slightly as Magoichi raised his voice._

 _Dropping his tone back to normal, Magoichi continued. "The head of the abbey came to the top of the gate, and told the Lord's men that there was no food to spare, so they would have to burn them alive. They hesitated at that, because while they feared the Lord, none of them wanted to burn a bunch of innocent monks. So, the head of the group called out again."_

" _Send out a man to be killed, or we'll burn this place to the ground!" Sayaka scowled up at Magoichi as he shouted again._

 _Grinning back down at her, he continued. "Of course, when he heard that, my father was eager to volunteer. The head of the abbey refused, telling him that he was too young to throw away his life. So, later that evening, he grabbed his hood, and snuck out, ready to give himself up. Before he went out to the Lord's men, he looked up at the stars one last time."_

 _He pointed up again, at a tight cluster of stars. "That right there is what he saw shining down at him. While he was looking up at those stars, several people stumbled into the clearing after him. Looking around, my father saw five of his fellow monks, all of whom had snuck out to sacrifice themselves. Realizing that each of them was willing to lay down their lives for the others, they decided to instead band together to fight off the Lord's men. After the fight, they decided to devote themselves to fighting for those that needed it- and so, the Saica were born."_

 _Her frown deepening, Sayaka looked back up at Magoichi. "But what did that have to do with stars?"_

" _Well, do you know what that group of stars is called?"_

 _Sayaka looked back at the sky, pausing for a moment before answering. "Mutsuraboshi?"_

" _Nope! Well, actually, yes, but that's not important!" Magoichi pulled Sayaka closer to his side, ignoring the small huff. "It's also called Subaru. And that night, the Saica clan united, just like the stars above them."_

" _... I still think that it's a dumb idea." Sayaka pouted, though her frown was fading away._

" _Well, just wait till you're stuck out here by yourself someday. That's when you can really see the spirits of the stars." Magoichi paused, stretching his arms backward. "For now though, we should head home. No reason to get lost for the fun of it!" He smiled in the light of the waning moon, and took Sayaka's hand in his rough one. Soon, the pair was carefully finding their way back again._

Saica's head jerked up, shaking off the faint bit of sleep that threatened to pull her over. Blinking, she scanned the sky again, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the faintly glowing embers left over from the fire. Her eyes settled on a particular cluster- six bright stars grouped together. "Subaru…" She whispered, before taking out the map she had been sketching. Aligning it to the canyon on the other side of her campsite, she made a quick note of the star's heading.

" _Tomorrow, I'll head that way. Unifying… let's see if your story pays off, father…"_

* * *

Haruhisa walked through a vast hallway, squinting as he passed through the rectalcles of harsh light streaming in through the windows. He didn't know how long he had been walking along this particular path, but he had the feeling that it had been a very long time indeed. Though, there was finally a break in the scenery, as he approached a great double door. He blinked and found himself at the base of it, staring up at the intricate carvings covering its surface- designs that he felt that he should recognize, but couldn't make out.

Reaching out to push the door open, Haruhisa's hand instead passed straight through, the door shifting out of his way like a veil of sand. Closing his eyes, he stepped through the portal. When he opened his eyes, he was standing a reception room. The door to the side was pushed open, sand flowing in from what should have been a garden. At the head of the room, in the place of honor, sat a weathered corpse dressed in formal robes, dried up and withered by the desert winds.

"I see.. So this is what lies beyond- an endless reflection on a man's failings." Haruhisa turned away from the corpse, looking out into the desert that spilled into the room. "Would that we have been swallowed by the shifting sands instead."

"As impetuous as ever, Saburōshirō." A low creaking voice filled the room. "Even at the end, you would rather flee than face consequences."

Haruhisa scowled, turning to face the corpse. "I did what I must, more than what should have ever been asked. Yet I see that I've fallen short of your expectations, Grandfather."

There was a loud rattle as the sliding door now behind Haruhisa was thrown open. He looked back to see a group of men, blood pouring from their mortal wounds. The leader pointed an accusing finger at him, speaking from a ruined throat. "And what were we?! Dogs that you must put down?! You were a traitor, and you dragged us to hell with you! We could have made our clan great again!"

The other men gurgled their approval alongside their leader, while Haruhisa stared him down. "Which clan would that have been, uncle? The Amago or the Shingū? Or perhaps the Mori?"

Haruhisa turned back towards the sand, ignoring the loud hissing coming from the group. "Enough. Your spirits tormented me enough in life- Death shall be my own, at least!" He stepped forwards out of the door, the sand whipping up to meet him. A silent sandstorm rose as he walked out, engulfing his view. Within minutes, the room he had left was completely gone, vanished into the swirling cloud.

As he walked further out, his grandfather's hollow voice echoed around him, blending into the rising sounds of wind. "You curse us for your fate, and still you've received everything that you wished for, boy! Is this not your blessed desert coming to embrace you? Before you return to your beloved dust, look upon your legacy!"

The storm in front of Haruhisa parted like a curtain, revealing a tall mountain covered in green trees. An ornate castle perched on top of the peak, standing resolute. " _Gassantoda… Then this must be…"_ Haruhisa looked to his left, the sand dropping away from his vision as he did so. He saw a sandy valley, with a raised path cutting through a small waterfall, and into a sparsely decorated camp.

" _That's where I was, before… All of this. And so the wind winds around to find itself home."_ He blinked, and the scene changed. Now, the interior of the camp was ravaged, and ten bloody figures lined the path. Wincing, he looked away from the sight, back to the mountain. As it came into sight, he watched it change as well. A wave of blackness began to climb up the slope, the trees warping as they burnt away in an invisible flame. From the top of each, a single line of smoke wafted upwards, climbing heavenwards like a thousand sticks of incense were burning at once. The castle warped as well, shifting into a tall, narrow headstone that bore only one word in massive kanji- 'AMAGO.'

Haruhisa's breath caught in his throat as the sandstorm picked up in strength. The howling sands soon blocked the mountain from his view. The sand covered everything in a featureless cloud once more, save the path into the ruined camp.

"Very well. Let the sands erase me as well, and so cover our shame." Hanging his head, Haruhisa began to walk down that path. Passing through the corridor made by his men's broken bodies, he stepped forwards to find a general's seat sitting untouched. He sat, looking back at the storm slowly engulfing the camp behind him, and slowly closed his eyes.

As he did so, he felt the ground crumble around him, as he began to fall. The dim, flickering light filtered through the raging storm was replaced by a harsh bright light that he could feel even through his eyelids. Still, he shut his eyes as he fell backwards, letting his body go limp. Feeling was rapidly fading from his consciousness, as well as his sense of self, like he was drifting off into an endless cloud. So the jerk that shot through his body as something grabbed onto his outstretched arm took him totally by surprise.

Haruhisa's eyes shot open, instantly confronted by the face of a young man that he felt he should recognize, but couldn't place. He stared deeply into his black rimmed eyes, and felt him doing the same in return. A swelling on an indescribable emotion welled up in the hearts of both of them, and they wrapped each other in a tight embrace. Both closed their eyes, shutting them tight against the tears that they felt trying to spill out, and a bright white light engulfed them both.


	16. Five Seals Opened

Team Gai and Team Yūgao stood in the harsh light of the mid-morning, staring at the gigantic boulder that barred their way. Tenten looked up along the cliffside, taking in the scenery as she scanned for any hidden surprises. "You sure that this is the place?"

Neji gave a sharp nod, the veins on the side of his face indicating his active Byakugan. "Pakkun was right. Gaara's in there."

The ninken on perched on his shoulder gave a quick snort. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid."

"Well then, we have our target." Yūgao looked over at Gai. "How do you want to breach?"

Instead of answering, Gai dashed forwards, fist drawn back. He struck the boulder with all his might, the sound of the impact reverberating through the quiet valley. Despite the volume, the stone itself didn't budge. Gai watched faint ripples fade away into the air just in front of the entrance. "A barrier…"

"A little warning would be nice next time!" Yūgao called from back behind him.

Gai looked back up at her, giving a brilliant smile and thumbs up. "Sorry! But, it looks like they've set up a barrier of some sort."

"If that's the case, we should go in from the side." Hideyoshi called out from the shore, where the rest of the samurai were waiting.

"I agree. If they're in a cavern, perhaps we could even collapse the ceiling and enter that way. I'm sure that Hyuga-san would be able to ensure that the Kazekage wouldn't be harmed by the falling rubble.' Hanbei added from besides Hideyoshi.

Yūgao turned around to face the people on shore, shaking her head. "That won't work. A seal of this caliber is bound to include the entire cliffside. I wouldn't be surprised if it reached underground as well."

"Yūgao-san's right." Kakashi appeared in a blur, landing next to Guy's team. The rest of his group quickly followed, even as Ieyasu rode up alongside the other samurai. "This is a Five Seal Barrier."

"Heh… You're late, Kakashi!" Gai grinned at him as the rest of their teams exchanged quick greetings. Yukimura's passionate reception of Sasuke and Ieyasu turned some heads with its volume, but the team leaders stayed professional.

"Yeah, well, we ran into some trouble on the way." Kakashi replied.

"Same here. Still, we were just trying to work out how to get through this barrier. Your thoughts?" Yūgao asked.

"Like I said, it's a Five Seals barrier. There'll be four other tags like that one up there-" He gestured to the large sealing tag that had been placed on the boulder. "-with 'Forbidden' written on them scattered around the area. All five have to be taken off at the same moment to disrupt the barrier."

"So, where are these tags then?" Naruto asked, impatiently looking around.

"Neji?" Kakashi shot a quick look over to the other jonin.

The Hyūga was already concentrating, Byakugan active. "Got it. There's one on a rock, 500 meters to the Northeast. Another on a tree next to the river 350 meters southeast. Then, there's one on the side of a cliff 650 meters to the northwest. And the last one is in a forest, 800 meters southwest from here."

"All right! They're all in range of our communicators." Gai paused, taking off his backpack. He began rummaging around inside, and quickly retrieved several black bands. Gesturing for his team to come in, he began handing them out. "Take these, and Neji can guide us straight to the tags."

Adjusting his communicator around his throat, Gai, stood back up, slinging his pack back over his shoulders. "Our team can handle this, as we're faster than the rest of you."

Sasuke looked his band over for a moment, before strapping it around his wrist. "I could just make a few clones and do this on my own. No need to spread ourselves thin, right?"

Kakashi shook his head. "They might have set additional defenses up around the tags. We have the manpower to spare, so it's better to avoid risking any one of us individually." Sasuke shrugged and gave a nod, so Kakashi turned back to Gai. "Head back as soon as possible once the barrier is down. I'll keep you updated if anything goes south here."

Sasuke spoke up again, raising his hand. "One more thing. Yukimura should handle one of the tags. He's going to be a lot more useful on that side of the river than over here if things do go wrong."

Kakashi looked back at Gai, who gave a thumbs up. "He has a point, Kakashi! Yukimura-san can handle the tag to the southwest, while Lee accompanies me." He finished by pulling out another communicator that he tossed to Neji, who headed off to fill Yukimura in on his part in the plan.

"Yukimura, your tag is a little further to the west." Neji's voice crackled slightly as it came through the speaker on Yukimura's neck. He brought his horse around, weaving through the dense trees.

After a few moments of searching, he dismounted, bringing his hand up to the transmit button. "I've got it!"

Gai's voice quickly followed. "Good job! Now, everybody wait to remove the tags until my mark. Three… two… One!"

Yukimura eagerly pulled down the tag. Seconds later a tremendous crash echoed through the forest, seemingly as confirmation that the barrier had dropped. Grinning, he turned to get back on his horse and head back to the hideout, only to pause. The forest floor was rising in a blob, and as Yukimura watched it seemed to coalesce into a human shape. He quickly reached back up to the transmitter. "Gai-san, there's movement over here! I think that it's some sort of trap!"

Gai responded quickly. "We've got the same thing over here."

"Here as well." Neji chimed in. "They must have worked it into the seals so that they could delay us while we were separated."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Tenten snapped.

"We have to return to the other teams as soon as possible! So, gather your youthful spirits, and overcome this obstacle!" Gai ordered, his trademark grin evident through the speaker.

Yukimura grinned, staring down what was now a perfect copy of himself. Neji and Tenten both gave their acknowledgements as he reached back to unhook his spears. "Yes sir! I, Sanada Genjiro Yukimura, shall overcome this with all my power!"

"Yukimura? Are you alright?" Neji asked, then paused for a moment. "...I think you forgot to hit transmit."

"Oh!" Yukimura fumbled for a moment, reaching up to press the button. "My apologies! I heard you!"

"Good! Now, do your best!" Gai's voice cut in again, before being cut off in turn by the sound of blows being exchanged.

Refocusing, Yukimura stared back at his duplicate. Bringing his spears out to his sides, he began to fan then up and down. "Uryaaaah! Burn, my soul!" Woooo, Sanada Yukimura, Coming!"

The tag at Yukimura's feet began to blister and curl away as he was wreathed in an aura of crimson fire. Drawing both spears back to his right side, Yukimura leapt forwards, the forest floor blackening in his wake. The duplicate mirrored the move, its absolute silence a strange counterpart to Yukimura's passionate yells. The pair slammed into each other, the hafts of their spears loudly crashing into each other. A crack resounded through the forest as fractures quickly spread through the fake Yukimura's spears. Seconds later, the duplicate disintegrated into a cloud of dirt clods and burning leaves as Yukimura pushed straight through.

Yukimura slid to a stop several feet behind the cloud, almost falling from the sudden lack of resistance. He turned back, blinking dust out of his eyes. He watched the falling debris for a long moment, his aura fading around him even as the small fires around him tried to spread. "That was… Incredible! My blazing soul has surpassed even myself!"

Laughing, Yukimura mounted his horse and began to turn back towards the hideout. Beginning the ride back, he reached up to the communicator. "Everyone, have you defeated your opponents?"

The first response was a shocked exclamation from Tenten, followed by a burst of bright laughter from Gai. "Wonderful! Rendezvous with Kakashi's team as soon as possible- we'll join you as soon as possible!"

Tenten leapt backwards, avoiding the cluster of kunai that thudded into the ground where she had just been standing. Unfurling her scroll slightly, she unsealed a pair of wide, fan like swords just in time to block the follow up volley. Looking to the side, she scowled as the kunai she had deflected dissolved back into river mud. " _Damn. I can't keep this up, or my supply will be shot."_

Dashing forwards, Tenten slashed out at the copy, only for it to perfectly parry the attack with its own pair of swords. Tenten continued her assault, ducking and weaving around the copy. At each turn, it countered every slash. Finally, feinting towards the copy's stomach, Tenten landed a hit. As the corner of her blade scraped along the copy's collarbone, Tenten had to pull back as the copy had landed a similar hit her with it's free hand.

Stepping back, Tenten reached up to wipe the blood from the new cut, staring at the changing face of her copy. " _And I can't outlast it either…"_ She unfurled the scroll on he back, trading a few quick volleys of ninja tools as she gained some ground. Her finger thumbed across the scroll as she considered which weapon would give her the best advantage. Just as she was about to unseal something, a sharp crack echoed up the valley.

Tenten and the copy reacted perfectly in sync, head snapping to look at the source of the sound. Standing there, pushing through a short bit of underbrush, was a red haired woman with a unfamiliar weapon slung across her back. Tenten looked her over, rapidly trying to assess this newcomer. " _Interesting outfit, not a standard uniform. No clan symbol, or any other insignia, for that matter. She looks like she's been out here for a while- probably longer than the Akatsuki…"_

In the scant seconds that had passed since she first saw the other woman, Tenten had come to a decision. While her copy unfurled its large scroll, she shouted a warning to the redhead. "Watch out!"

As the newcomer turned to look at Tenten, the copy let loose a volley of kunai and shuriken at her. Dropping the pack she had been carrying, the redhead quickly grabbed a pair of the weapons that filled the sheaths wrapped around her left leg. Crossing one arm over the other, she opened fire, sparks erupting from the ninja tools as they were shot out of the air. The copy began a follow up, only to quickly abandon it in favor of dodging a series of Fuuma shuriken that Tenten launched its way.

Dashing in under the cover of the shuriken, Tenten unsealed a three section staff and brought it up towards the copy's chest. It blocked the attack with an identical weapon, wrapping one section around Tenten's own staff. Tenten let go of the free portion of the staff, slipping a kunai into her hand as she stepped into the copies' reach. The copy shifted backwards perfectly in sync with Tenten's lunge, pulling the staff out of her hand. It then staggered, blood pouring out of its shoulder as the red head fired again. Capitalizing on the opening, Tenten drove her kunai into the copy's gut.

Tenten lost her grip on the weapon as the copy leapt backwards, moving with unnatural ease with its gaping wounds. It stopped on a tall rock by the side of the river, pulling the large scroll off of its back. Unfurling the scroll, the copy threw it back towards its opponents, letting it arc over their heads. Tenten's eyes widened as the scroll opened further, hands flying to her own scroll.

The stranger also reacted quickly, drawing another one of her weapons. Rolling out of the way from the first weapon that shot down, she opened fire up towards the scroll. Before a second weapon was unsealed, the shots tore through the thick paper of the scroll, perforating in a straight line. She finished the burst of fire with a single shot on either side of the line, the impact tearing the extended portion of the scroll in half. The copy's assault continued, but each weapon that it unsealed just caused the scroll to fly further out of place.

As weapons rained down around her, Tenten changed her aim to the copy itself, readying a long stretch of her scroll. White smoke curled around her as she began to unseal a barrage of weapons. The rain of steel slammed into the copy, the force of the repeated blows lifting it into the air. After maintaining this assault for the better part of minute, Tenten cut it off, sliding her hand along to a new section of the scroll. She then unsealed a cluster of kunai, launching them and igniting the attached tags with one quick gesture. The daggers hit home, sinking into the copy's chest before the exploding tags detonated, scattering mud around as it violently disincorporated.

The blast echoed through the valley as both women waited, still at the ready in case the fight wasn't quite over. The redhead was the first to stand down, returning both of her weapons to their holsters. "Nice shot."

Tenten sucked in a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Same to you. Those are quite the weapons that you have there."

"Well, our firearms are the Saica's pride." The stranger acknowledged the comment with a distracted nod, adjusting the fit of one of her gloves.

Tenten didn't notice the her attitude, instead leaning forwards to get a better look at the holsters. "Firearms… I've never seen anything like them before." Catching herself, she pivoted backwards, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Anyways, what are you doing out here? Pretty far from any typical routes."

The other woman muttered a curse under her breath, looking away. "That's what I figured. I've been lost out here for days. I was hoping to find a road or village when I came across you and your… problem."

"I see. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get that lost? I mean, couldn't you just backtrack out of here?" Tenten asked.

"It's tough to explain. There was some sort of flash, and I was in this valley." The redhead shrugged slightly, looking irritated at the situation. "That's all there is to it. If you can just point me in the right direction, I'll get out of your way."

Tenten paused, looking to the side. A second later she looked back up, with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Oh, that sounds like quite the predicament! I can give you directions if you need- but first, I just realized I never introduced myself! I'm Tenten, a shinobi of Konoha."

The other woman stared at Tenten for a moment with a stony expression. "Saica Magoichi, head of the Saica Clan. I was in Kishū before this."

"Good to meet you, Saica-san!" Tenten bowed slightly. "Now, I would be happy to give you directions, but I need to check in with my team and see if they're alright. It'll only take a few seconds."

Magoichi nodded slowly, still looking guarded. Tenten accepted that, and started walking along the side of the river. After she had gone a short way, she reached up to activate her transmitter. "I"m clear over here. What are your statuses?"

Neji's clipped response was the first to come back. "Still engaged."

"Same here! These foes are quite challenging!" Gai radioed in.

Tenten nodded to herself. "Got it. I'll be there ASAP."

"Negative! Kakashi's team needs assistance- head back there instead." Gai replied.

"Understood." Tenten paused for a second. "Also, Yukimura, have you heard of a Saica Magoichi?"

"Saica-san? Of course, I've heard that she's a great leader!" There was a short pause, before Yukimura continued at a much louder volume. "Wait, how have you heard of her?!"

"It looks like I just met her. I'll tell you more when we rendezvous." Tenten cut off the connection, turning back to Magoichi. She was standing where Tenten had left her, starting after the shinobi with her arms crossed. Jogging slightly, Tenten gave a slight wave as she called out to her. "Sorry about that. My team and I are actually out here to deal with some threats in the area. They're still active, so it would probably safer if I escort you out of here rather than just give you directions to the road- that is, if that's alright with you."

Magoichi thought about it for a second, eyebrows furrowing. "Alright. I can take care of myself, however, so don't feel that you need inconvenience yourself on my account."

"No, it's no problem! But, we should get moving." Tenten waved her off, turning back to the forest.

"Lead on then." Magoichi adjusted the strap on her rucksack, and the pair headed off, back towards the hideout.


	17. Third Gaiden: Stratagems in the North

_Several months before the Akatsuki's attack on Suna..._

Sitting at the counter of a small bar, Motonari Mori eyed the tense standoff taking place just outside of the door with a growing amount of interest. He had found himself transported to this village several days before, and had faced an unpleasant situation from the beginning. Not only was the Mori separated from his legions of faithful pawns, but he had no sense of where his beloved Chūgoku was located. To complicate matters even further, no-one that he had talked to had even heard of the region, much less where it was situated. Rather than falling into despair, or simply abandoning his ambitions, Motonari immediately set to work gleaning any information that he could about this strange new world, and forming the base of a new scheme.

It was this information that allowed him to recognize the detailing on the cloak of the woman who had entered the bar a few minutes before. The red clouds over a black background were the symbol of the mercenary organization "Akatsuki," or so he had heard. The blue haired woman had immediately gone to speak with one of the only other patrons of the bar, a massive shinobi clad in red armor overlaid with a sleeveless black gi. While he had not heard what she had said to him, a few seconds later the man downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, gave the woman a terse response, and followed her outside. From there, they began to stare each other down. Motonari watched them through the still open door, beginning to analyze the situation as he did so.

" _The woman from Akatsuki, her stance is still relaxed, while the other is shifting into what's clearly a combative stance… I suppose that this may be a chance to introduce myself to the group, and begin to negotiate terms of a contract, but they may have motivations that I am unaware of. There's no use in pawns that may make an unexpected move against me, after all. On the other hand, the symbol on her opponent's headband indicates that he is from the land of… Iwa, if I remember correctly."_

" _I believe that they're just coming out of a defeat in the most recent war. If so, then many of their soldiers will still harbor resentment for their current leaders… Besides, these shinobi tend to travel in groups on their missions, meaning that this one may be taking leave at the moment. At this point, even a single pawn will advance the status of my plan, especially if it's one that may be able to provide me with more detailed information on the surrounding area… I suppose it's decided then. In any case, the best way to recruit someone is to make them indebted to you. I suppose that I'll just have to find a way to do so."_

As Motonari was pondering his plan of attack, the two combatants outside of the bar began their fight, the armored man charging forwards at the woman with a surprising amount of speed, slamming his shoulder into her torso. In response, the woman dissolved into paper as he made contact with her, reappearing across the street in a flurry of leaflets. The Iwa shinobi turned to continue his assault, but then thought better as he caught notice of the exploding tags that had stuck fast to his armor. Stamping his foot, steam exploded out of every available gap in the armor, soaking the volatile tags and causing the ink to smudge, defusing them.

The Akatsuki member was quick to press the advantage, holding out an arm which began to disperse into a multitude of sheets of paper. The cloud of papers hovered for a moment before folding in on themselves and shooting out towards the steam user. He managed to quickly bring his arms up in front of his face, allowing the majority of sheets that had been aimed at his uncovered areas to deflect harmlessly to the ground. However, even with that, several of the darts managed to score long cuts across his face.

Before he could lower his arms, the woman was already on top of him again, preparing to run him through with a long spear of paper. Deflecting the implement to the side with a quick sweep of the arm, he caught hold of her collar, and using that leverage, threw her back over towards the bar. Using a burst of steam out of his back, he overtook her at the peak of her flight, his shadow developing her. With a blast of steam shooting out of each upwards facing gap in the armor, he propelled himself into the ground feet first, crushing her with the force of the impact. Or, he would have if the woman didn't bust into a cloud of paper upon impact.

As the cloud of loose papers expanded outwards, several exploding tags that had been mixed in detonated, kicking up a screen of dust and debris around the man which effectively blocked his line of sight. While he was momentarily stunned, his opponent took the opportunity to reappear some ways away. Holding out an arm, she willed several sheets of the loose paper to coalesce into a humanoid figure. Several seconds later, an exact duplicate stood beside her.

" _Hn. I suppose that I should intervene before this develops much further."_ Turning to the bartender, who had backed away from the door in fear, Motonari spoke up. "I need four bottles of your strongest drink. Now." Not in any mood to protest, the bartender quickly handed him several bottles of a locally made whiskey before turning and fleeing into his back room. While he was doing that, Motonari stood, picking his ringblade up as he did so. In one quick motion, he brought it down, slashing through the bar's three remaining patrons. Surprisingly, the blade passed through them without leaving a mark. What it did leave was a faintly glowing halo of green light hovering around each of the men. Having brought them under his control, he directed them to pick up the bottles, the largest of them taking two. His pawns following behind him, he walked through the door, moving towards the conflict.

He stopped as he reached the edge of the street, and then began to quickly swing his ringblade around himself. As light passed through the mirrored weapon, it was repeatedly reflected as it began to harden. When Motonari leapt backwards seconds later, the light remained in position, forming an exact replica of the Mori. Satisfied with his decoy, he directed his unwitting subordinates to charge forwards at the Akatsuki member.

Two went towards the newly formed clone, while the one with two bottles of liquor charged what Motonari believed to be the original. The two terrorists were quick to react, however. The clone directed a storm of sharpened paper at the pair coming after her, killing one of the men outright. The second was able to move so that the flurry of blades only tore into his leg, and threw his bottle at the woman. The clone was faster than the projectile, however, and quickly moved forwards directly in front of the man, ducking under the clumsily thrown bottle. As she drew her hand back, preparing to drive a paper kunai through his head, the green ring floating around him turned a bright red.

Seconds later, the man and the clone were engulfed in a powerful explosion, destroying them both. The Akatsuki member was quick to react; sending a wave of sharpened paper at what she believed was the newcomer to the fight and the man coming towards her, tearing the both apart. The scant moments that she spent dispersing the decoy were all the opportunity that the Iwa shinobi needed, however. Steam pouring from the five prominent vents on his back, the armor clad man burst from the cloud of smoke, shoulder held in front of him to protect from incoming attacks. As he was about halfway to his opponent, steam burst from the joints on his right arm and knee. As the steam began to give him thrust, he also crouched, lowering his center of gravity, and throwing him into a rapid horizontal spin.

The rotation intensified, until he was within striking distance of his target. He quickly straightened out, fist drawn back, the momentum from the spin channeled into his strike. The rapidity of this chain of events was enough to catch the woman off guard, and she turned back from destroying the decoy just in time to catch the massive man's fist to her sternum.

The force of the impact lifted her off of her feet, throwing her backwards across the street, where she landed heavily against the wall of a nearby shop. The moment that she hit the wall, she dispersed into a storm of paper fragments again. The cloud of paper then began to pick up speed, spinning into a maelstrom of razor sharp blades as it quickly expanded over the street. The armored man reacted quickly, crossing his arms over his face. Moments later, a loud scraping notice filled the air as the sharpened leaflets dragged across his armor, cutting shallow gouges through the red paint as they tore apart the black gi overtop.

In response, he brought his foot down again, channeling a large amount of steam into a cloud around him. The thick mist was enough to slow down the majority of the projectiles, causing them to lose the momentum needed to do damage. As the sharpened paper begins to fall from the air, a number of leaflets directly above the Iwa shinobi coalesced into the shape of the woman. As soon as she was whole again, the Akatsuki member quickly formed a long spear of paper above her hand, and prepared to fire it through the unaware man's back.

Before she could release the crippling projectile, however, the area around her was suddenly engulfed in a bright, searing light. Unable to bite back the instinctual hiss of pain before it left her lips, she abandoned the spear as she drew her arm up to shade her eyes from the harsh glare. As she did so, she quickly noticed that both her robe and the exposed edges of her papers were beginning to blacken and smoke under the blazing heat. Having heard her cry of pain, her other opponent was again quick to capitalize on the opening. Bringing both of his hands together while using a burst of steam to speed up his rotation, he brought his conjoined fists directly into the woman's side, sending her flying towards the source of the beam of light that had pinned her down.

On the other side of the street, Motonari was standing behind a translucent green disc of light, his arms stretched upwards towards his ringblade- which was currently floating in the air, producing the ray of intense light. For a brief moment before the flying woman completely blocked his view of the newcomer, the Iwa shinobi thought that he saw a distinct scowl on his face. The prone woman gracefully floated back to her feet, closing the gap towards Motonari, coming to a stop as she reached the glowing circle.

Ending his _Teru,_ Motonari caught his falling ringblade just as the woman came to a stop. He spun it forwards as he caught it, hitting the back of the light disc and sending it gliding forwards. Still sliding to a stop, she was unable to avoid the wall of light. With a loud crackle of energy, she was painfully reflected into the ground, bursting into her signature cloud of paper as she did so. The papers quickly scattered, leaving the street mostly clear. The larger of the two men carefully closed the distance towards his unexpected ally, not wanting to take this break in the combat for granted.

Motonari's eyebrow quirked up slightly as the man approached him. " _Interesting. I didn't take him as one to mince words while there was work to be done… Perhaps he regards me as threat as well?"_ As the large man got steadily closer, Motonari gripped his ringblade tighter, rotating it back so that he stood in its put his plans for defending himself on hold as the other man began to speak, however.

"Hey, you there! I appreciate the help, but who the hell are you?" His voice was deep and rich, only a faint tremor indicating that he had just been in combat.

Mori's reply was as cool and level as his initial order in the bar. "I am the child of the Sun, Mōri Motonari, Daimyō of the Chūgoku region. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

His companion's eyes narrowed at that as he seemed to mull the new information over. "You say that you're a Daimyō?" He looked Motonari up and down quickly, before snorting, faint wisps of steam curling up from inside his mask. "Funny, you don't look like any of those pompous bastards that I've seen. And I've certainly never heard of a Daimyō trained in ninjutsu!"

Motonari frowned slightly. "Of course you haven't. I am a samurai, the heir of the Mori clan."

"Samurai? Last I checked, the only samurai left are from Tetsu no Kuni, and they don't care for underhanded tricks like those techniques that you were using. And they certainly don't use specialized weapons like that one there." He finished with a forceful point at Motonari's ringblade.

"I never said that I was an ordinary samurai, now did I?" Motonari replied dismissively.

"Hm…" The tall man let out a low chuckle at that. "I suppose that you didn't. We still have company though, so I'll get back to this later. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?" Motonari asked.

"The name's Han. Nice to meet you." With that, the two men turned away from each other and towards the rooftop of the building across the street, where a mass of paper was now coming back together.

The cloud of white soon settled, revealing the Akatsuki member, now with a pair of large white wings trailing out behind her back. "I'm impressed, Gobi. We hadn't expected that you would put up such an impressive fight, or that you would have found such an unusual partner. But still, your efforts are futile. I will bring you to Kami-sama so that his will may be done. Whether your friend will survive or not is entirely up to him." With that, the blue haired woman flapped her wings launching a storm of paper shuriken at the pair.

In response, Han quickly drew back his fist. "I'm afraid that you'll find that I won't give up that easily! _**Yama Kowasu Kitte**_!" With that, the Iwa jinchūriki directed a massive amount of steam out of the ports on his legs and feet, shooting him up into the air. The cloud of vapor that was driving him upwards also deflected the storm of paper projectiles, allowing him to reach the apex of his leap untouched. As he reached that point, Han directed an even greater amount of steam out of the vents on his back, driving him towards the ground at a tremendous speed. With a crack that echoed through the entirety of the sleepy village, Han barreled down through the roof of the wooden house, splintered beams collapsing in his wake.

The Akatsuki member leapt off of the roof barely in time, hovering in front of the now ruined home as she directed a quickly formed paper chakram towards the now exposed Motonari. He rotated out of the way of the razor sharp disc almost casually. As he moved out of the way, he also turned away from the woman, forming a bright barrier made of light. Moments later, the chakram deflected off the barrier and into the ground with a loud screech, as the paper user had already directed it to move towards what she assumed would be his unprotected back.

Now that the Mori was showing his back to her, she quickly directed her paper to form into a pair of long spears, both aimed directly towards his back. Her aim was thrown off, however, as a broken support beam shot out of the wreckage of what had once been a comfortable home. Noticing the improvised projectile just in time, she rose higher with a flap of her wings, letting the hunk of wood sail harmlessly underneath her. Unfortunately for her, she didn't notice the fact that Han had launched himself upwards in the wake of the beam, holding the other half like an improvised club. Catching a trace of his steam trail in the corner of her eye, the blue haired woman was able to erect a paper barrier at the last minute, but it only served to slightly dampen the force of the blow.

The two opponents met in the air with a loud snap, as Han struck the shield with such force that the beam broke into two pieces upon impact. The Akatsuki member was sent sailing downwards towards Motonari, who spun backwards out of the way, allowing her to crash face first into the barrier that he had erected a few seconds ago. The woman was once again deflected downwards into the ground with burnt clothing, but she elected to not disperse into leaves of paper this time. Instead, grabbing a paper kunai, she lunged towards Motonari, hoping to dispatch him in close combat. As the woman bore down on him with the kunai, Motonari quickly brought the edge of his ringblade up to parry the blow. The woman then went to gut him with the second kunai that she had concealed in her other hand, reaching under his weapon, only for Motonari to spin backwards.

As he moved away, his ringblade split into two halves, which he then extended outwards as he spun back. The force of the ring suddenly extending, paired with a coating of light on the blade that was forcing the surrounding air away in a hot gust of wind, pushed the Akatsuki member backwards. Reeling from the sudden motion, she moved her wings forwards to prepare another wave of shuriken, only to be struck in the back by a steam driven kick from Han. The force of the blow paired with the fact that she was already off balance sent the woman flying forwards past Motonari. As she went sprawling across the ground, Motonari had already begun another trap.

Spinning his ringblade around his raised forearm, he launched a quickly expanding halo of light into the air, which grew and solidified into a ring of brightly shining green light that hovered around the woman. She had just managed to regain her footing when the ring suddenly exerted a tremendous pressure on the area, driving everything inside into the center. She quickly dispersed into a mass of papers, only to find that they were all drawn into the heart of the ring as well. She quickly reached out with her chakra, connecting with a paper clone that she had prepared earlier in the fight. With a quick flash of smoke, she completed the Kawarimi. This was just in time, as mere moments later; Motonari completed another use of his " _Teru_." With the chakra coating on the paper strained to the limit by Motonari's " _Baku_ ," the beam of concentrated sunlight was able to reduce the sphere of paper to ash in less than a minute.

Hidden on the roof of a neighboring building, the Akatsuki member mentally evaluated her chances. " _This is troubling… My sources told me that Han primarily worked alone. I may have to retreat for now, and send a more prepared team after them when we have more information. In any case, I should probably pull back before we gather too much attention."_

Upon reaching this decision, she looked down to notice that the pair had located her again. Before they could take any action against her, she brought her arms forwards, releasing a wave of lit explosive tags. Though the both of them were able to leap away from the blast radius in time, the cloud of dust and grit kicked up from the explosion totally blocked their view of the Akatsuki member. Moments later, thousands of self-propelled paper airplanes burst from the cloud, spreading out and traveling away from the village in all directions. Upon seeing this, Motonari turned back towards the damaged village, dismissing his traps with a simple gesture.

At that, Han turned slightly towards him, still crouched in a fighting stance. "Hey, Mori, what the hell are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? She's gone. I assume that those last shapes were to allow her to cover distance quicker, and the large number of them was to prevent us from trying to follow after her." Motonari absently responded, brushing dust from his armor.

Han scowled, not liking the other man's tone, but still agreeing with what he was trying to say. "You have a point. But still, it could just be another diversion."

"If it were, she would have gone for my back as soon as I dropped my guard." Motonari answered.

Han hummed. "Pretty risky, using yourself as bait like that."

"Not at all. You've shown yourself to be reliable in protecting my back before, so I had no reason to doubt that you'd fail me in this instance."Motonari replied, casually waving off the other man's comment.

Somewhat satisfied, Han straightened up. "Hm. Still pretty ballsy if you ask me. Anyway, now that this is all over, what are your plans?"

"I was planning on heading south, towards Kaze no Kuni. With their recent economic troubles, there should be plenty of out of work men who would pick up a sword for the money." Motonari answered.

Slipping one hand into the remnant of his gi, Han leaned back. "I see. Long way to travel on your own, especially with the bandit populations on the rise again."

Motonari nodded. "I'm quite certain that I can handle myself, but I had been hoping that I could convince you to accompany me on the trip. I could use a competent partner, as well as someone who is more familiar with these areas than I. I can promise payment when we arrive at our destination as well, if that is a concern of yours."

Han looked downwards for a moment, thinking over the offer. Reaching a decision quickly, he looked back at Motonari, meeting his gaze. "What the hell. Getting on a new mercenary group's good side would be good for Iwa. If the old bastard gets on my case, I'll just tell him that I decided to lay low after the Akatsuki attacked. Besides, it should be nice to travel with someone else for a change."

Motonari gave another short nod. "Good. I assume that you'll be ready to travel immediately?"

Han chuckled. "Considering that the inn where I was staying was just wrecked, I would say that's a damn good guess."

"Well then, let's be off." With that, Motonari turned and began his journey out of the village, his new partner walking at his side.

After they had gone about a block, Han spoke up again. "Now, about you being a samurai…"

* * *

Techique Names:

 **Yama Kowasu Kitte-** Mountain Breaking Stomp

 _Teru-_ Shine

 _Baku-_ Bind


End file.
